NICK Ludwell won the Yorkshire PGA championship for the second time at Willow Valley, but couldn’t remember when his first win was.
“All I can recall is that it was at Fulford a long time ago,” said the Selby club man, who shot a one under par 143 total over two days to equal the best mark over 36 holes since the tournament went at Willow Valley and set by Sheffield’s John Oates.
Ludwell, the Yorkshire PGA match-play champion, started the second and final round on the same one under mark as Hamander Matharu, a young tournament player attached at Leeds club Cookridge Hall, and when Matharu eagled the first hole, a 345 yards dog-leg, by driving the green it signalled that the experienced Ludwell faced a big battle, especially when Ludwell bogied the second.
Ludwell – he used his driver just four times on a course he hailed as brilliant but one on which he said was vital to keep the ball in play – kept his cool, however, and made a string of regulation figures, offsetting a couple of dropped shots with two crucial birdies.
Matharu dropped four shots over three holes around the turn only to hit back down the stretch but a great birdie over the last at 18 left him one short of forcing a play-off with Ludwell as John Mellor battled into third place when first round leader Geoff Harris (Rudding Park) suffered and fell back into the pack.
Leading scores: 143 - N Ludwell (Selby) 71 72 (£2000). 144 - H Matharu (Cookridge Hall) 71 73 (£1000). 145 - J Mellor (The Oaks) 74 71 (£700). 147 - J Hepworth (Ilkley) 73 73, R Wragg (South Grove GA) 73 74, J Wells (Cherry Burton) 73 74. 149 - J Proctor (Moor View GA) 74 75, P Bradshaw (Boothferry) 75 74, A Wainwright (Mid Yorkshire) 74 75. 150 - D Mansell (Wakefield) 76 74, J Pyle (Boothferry) 76 74, D Rands (The Manor) 74 76.
