Norfolk pair narrowly miss out on honours in Turkey
The Norfolk's Tony Varney and Iain Phillips missed out on a slice of Turkish delight when they had to settle for fourth place in the grand final of the PGA International Pro-Captain Challenge at Turkey's Antalya Golf Club.
PGA professional Varney and 2010 club captain Iain Phillips were well in contention after the first round when their two-under 69 put them in third place. But they ended up one over for the 36-hole betterball tournament which is sponsored by BMW.
The pair finished seven shots behind champions Richard Dinsdale and Steve Hook from Parc Golf Academy, Newport.
The tournament was played over the Dave Jones-designed PGA Sultan Course which has played host to three PGA National Pro-Am Championships and will also stage the 2012 Eisenhower Trophy.
Despite missing out on a top three finish, Phillips, who has competed on the national bike racing circuit, admitted it had been a memorable experience.
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'It's been fantastic experience, for three days I've lived the dream,' he said. 'There will be many golfers that never get the chance to experience this and it's been wonderful if not a little bitter sweet as we just missed out on third place.'
Phillips, who ended his term as captain in October, is an adventure-loving man who has bungee-jumped and parachuted but insisted he's never felt as nervous as teeing off on the first.
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He didn't buckle under the pressure and made a crucial par on the last hole of the first round. In the second round it was Varney who ended the day on a high with a 25-foot birdie putt on the last to clinch fourth place outright.
'It was a frustrating day as we didn't do ourselves justice because on most of the holes there was only one of us in it which you can't do in better ball,' he said. 'But all in all it's been a fantastic week.'
