Andrew Marshall records two eagles on his way to thrilling win at West Essex
Andrew Marshall on his way to an impressive win in the East PGA pro-am at West Essex. Picture: Tony Rushmer - Credit: Archant
Norfolk's Andrew Marshall bagged two eagles on the back-nine as he claimed a one-shot victory in the West Essex Pro-Am.
Marshall, 43, chipped in from 40 yards for a three at the par-five 10th before back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14 helped him reach four-under-par.
But the Dereham-based ace still found himself a shot back from fellow former European Tour player Ray Russell (Centurion Club) as he came to the closing hole – an uphill par-five.
Marshall chose three-wood from the tee before cutting a rescue club into around 20 feet of the cup, pin high. It was then that he chose to glance at the leaderboard
'I saw Ray had shot five-under, so I'd got two putts to tie but I thought, 'Well, I'll just hit as good a putt as I can,' said Marshall, who had finished tied fourth the previous day at the two-round London Open. 'It was one of those that the nearer it got, the more it was in. I was thrilled.'
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That second eagle sat alongside a total of four birdies for Marshall, who signed for a six-under-par 64 that secured his first victory on the PGA in England (East) schedule.
It was ironic that he should deny Russell as the Scot – a former European Tour winner – had put him up the evening before.
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Marshall added: 'Ray is a good friend. I'd actually stayed at his the previous night and he took me to his local for a quiz – we were third in that.'
Meanwhile Bawburgh proved to be an excellent venue for East Anglian Senior Open, with Woburn's Mark Wharton beating home professional Michael Few in a play-off to take the win.
The wind howled on the first day but that did not stop two players recording under par rounds, with Bob Cameron shooting 70 and Few a superb 68 after being six under par on the back nine.
The testing course held the players at bay on the second day and only two went under par this time around. Mark Spooner managed a 70 for third place and Mark Wharton shot a three under 69 to tie for first place with Few (73).
Wharton just missed a birdie putt on the first hole so off they walked to the 18th where Few hit his tee shot just out of bounds. Wharton kept his nerve to win the hole and take the £1,200 top prize.
