Young Guns Storm 2013 Midlands Regional Final

The Midlands Regional Final of Britain's Best Putter saw a combination of familiar faces and new ones, as players competed on the fast and sloping putting green at The Nottinghamshire. After selecting an Odyssey putter to use for the day, players took part in an 18-hole medal round to find the match play line-up. It proved to be very tight with only three putts separating the top 16 who qualified for the match play. It was the 2012 Midlands Champion, Luke Burrows, who impressed again, taking the number one seed position with 32 putts. He was closely followed by four players who managed 33 putts for the 18-hole challenge.

With such a close qualifying round it was no surprise that some of the top seeds exited the competition early, but Burrows again qualified for the final by making the final four. He came up against youngster Max Marshal in a cracking semi-final, with 18-year-old Marshall taking the victory in fine style. At the other end of the draw it was scratch golfer Nick Cunningham and Lea Marston member Nathan Williams who secured their spots at The Belfry for the Grand Final. Williams was another familiar face after qualifying for the Grand Final in 2012. Both Burrows and Williams competed in a Regional Final at The Belfry last year so will have the advantage of knowing the Grand Final putting green better than most. As well as winning a Grand Final spot, each of the top four will win an Odyssey putter that will be presented to them at The Belfry.  

Cunningham secured his final place against Marshall with some fearless putting that gave him a 5&4 victory. As expected, the final was a tight affair with a number of single putts from both players and very few three putts. In the end Cunningham continued the fine form that had got him this far and was victorious by a 2&1 margin. The four young qualifiers all showed impressive nerves throughout the day. They will look to continue their fine form through to the Grand Final in September where they will compete for the title of Britain's Best Putter 2013 and a holiday to LUMINE Mediterránea Beach & Golf Club in Southern Spain.