Jones Left Battered And Bruised After Duel With The Son

Defending champion, Mark Greatorex, opened proceedings with a wayward drive at the first hole, setting the tone for a disappointing opening round, but Jones simply raced out of the blocks, grabbing a one shot lead over the field at only the second hole.

David Dine recovered from a shaky start to post the first birdie of the tournament at the third, while VCD Open champion, Brian Norris, also started impressively, joining Jones in the lead after the par three sixth.

At the turn, Jones and Norris topped the leaderboard, with Dine a shot adrift in third. Elsewhere, tournament favourite, Martin Wallace, headed the chasing pack which included Stuart White, Gary Andrews, Kevin Ibrahim and the surprise package of David Wallace Snr.

Norris opened up a two shot advantage over the field at the twelfth, but an indifferent finish allowed Jones to return to the clubhouse as the overnight leader by the slenderest of margins. David Dine closed two shots off the pace, while Antony Dine finished strongly, a chip-in at the difficult seventeenth boosting his chances of success on the final day. Stuart White rode his luck to end the day just four behind the leader, while Matt Norris and Martin Wallace were a shot further back, but not out of contention by any means.

As the final round got under way, Andy Jones made the best possible start, rolling in a birdie at the par four first to open up a four shot lead. Minutes later, David Kelly, out in the first group, birdied the third, Kelly going on to reverse his form of the previous day and climb impressively into the top ten by the end of the day.

For a few holes, Jones’ birdie start seemed to have rattled his rivals, but a par for David Dine at the uphill par three fourth allowed him to gain some momentum, while Brian Norris was making a steady fightback, and as the final fourball turned into the teeth of the breeze at the sixth, Jones’ round began to unravel and soon his lead had been trimmed to just two shots. Jones faltered again at the seventh and suddenly there was a three way tie at the top.

While most of the field was struggling around the Ailsa’s very own “Amen Corner”, one golfer was making rapid strides up the leaderboard. A birdie two into the wind at the treacherous sixth catapulted Mark Greatorex back into contention and as he closed out his front nine with a par at the tricky ninth, he sat just two shots off the lead and very much back in the mix.

As the golfers headed for home, Jones gained control once more with an excellent putt at the tenth, but a slip at the par three eleventh allowed the pack to converge and now just two shots separated the top five with just seven holes to play. It was here that Antony Dine made his move. Under the radar for much of the day, a par at the twelfth brought him level, only for Jones to re-establish supremacy at he very next hole.

But disaster struck. A seven at the par four fourteenth saw Jones relinquish the lead for the very first time and Dine appeared to have timed his run to perfection. With four to play and still only three shots separating the top five, it was still anyone’s for the taking. David Dine was the first to crack, making a mess of the par three fifteenth to fall out of contention, but while Jones, Greatorex and Norris were holding firm, Antony Dine was covering their every move. Indeed, Dine pulled a further shot clear after a fine approach to the sixteenth, and now two up with two to play, the tournament was his to lose.

2000 - Brian Norris

2001 - Matt Norris

2002 - Arran Squires

2003 - Keith McMahon

2004 - Bill Kenny

2005 - Marc James

2006 - Brian Blanchard

2007 - Marc James

2008 - Martyn Whitman

2009 - Marc James

2010 - Mark Greatorex

2011 - Antony Dine

Something special was now required. Jones launched two monster hits to the back of the green on the par five seventeeth and with Dine in deep rough, hope was still alive. But a miraculous recovery to within fifteen feet shattered Jones’ hopes, compounded further by Dine knocking in the resultant birdie putt. Jones matched Dine’s birdie, but the damage had been done.

An equally impressive birdie at the last saw Jones collect a well deserved Runners-up spot, easing clear of Greatorex and Norris, with Dine a shot further back in fifth.

Kevin Ibrahim and Matt Norris showed welcome returns to form to claim sixth and seventh, while several other big names finished in and around the top ten to set up a fascinating Order of Merit battle over the coming months. The tournament, however, belonged to Antony Dine, the new kid on the block. Time will tell if he has the staying power of the truly great champions or whether he will follow the route of the other one hit wonders, but for now, Dine is definitely the man to be shot at.

Final Hole Hightlights.....