The strong winds that greeted us at Royal Liverpool for our ‘grand finale’ were always likely to play havoc with the scores – and so it proved.
It would be fair to say that most of us came off battered and bruised from the experience and wondering how the world’s best will cope if they are greeted with the same conditions for next year’s Open Championship.
Perhaps they could take a lesson from Patricia Davies, who proved once again what an accomplished player she is in constant, buffeting winds.
Patricia won the Fred Pignon Trophy here in similar conditions in 2018 and went on to repeat the feat in 2022, finishing with 32 points to beat Colin Harding, the previous day’s winner, by a single point. They were the only two players to score more than 30 points on the day.
In winning, Patricia also became the first player to lift the trophy five times in total. Her first win came in 1991 at The Wisley and was followed by victories in 1992 (Brocket Hall), 2002 (Wentworth East) and 2018 (Royal Liverpool). Spectacular stuff!
Elsewhere Denis Kirwan kept a close eye on his nearest challengers – David Facey and Rob Perkins – in the chase to finish as player of the year. Facey, who started the day five points behind, gave it his best shot, getting to within two points on a couple of occasions, only for the gap to be opened up once more. Rob had left himself too much to do after a disappointing round the previous day, so Denis was able to claim overall honours. His winning smile said it all.
Final Scores – 2022 Golf Writers Championship (Fred Pignon Trophy)- 27th September, 2022 (Royal Liverpool)
32: Patricia Davies
31: Colin Harding
28: Denis Kirwan, Rob Perkins, Derek Lawrenson, Adrian Milledge
26: David Facey
24: Neil McLeman
23: Dave Edwards, James Nursey
21: Iain Carter
18: Peter Dixon
5: Paul Mahoney
*Guest: Gary Butler (31)
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