Accountancy Age Masters 2000 - A dramatic end to Masters 2000.

Golfers taking part in this year’s Accountancy Age Masters final defied the petrol shortage before moving on to demonstrate some fine driving skills of their own.

The finest 36 golfers from the six regional heats went on to display some fantastic golf on the notoriously testing Brabazon course at The Belfry. The tournament was run in association with NMB-Heller.

The course, which will be home to the Ryder Cup next year, showed the players why it is regarded as one of the toughest on the pro circuit.

Plenty of water, sand, deep unforgiving roughs and some quick, sloping greens, not to mention frequent gusts of wind, made for a challenging day which was enjoyed by the competitors.

The day remained dry with outbreaks of sun, thankfully a characteristic for most of the tournament.

Simon Knee of SD Knee, won the competition to land the prestigious Masters jacket with an awesome display, which broke the hearts of the remainder of the field.

The win was even more remarkable given that he had finished in fifth place in the South-West regional heat at St Pierre in Chepstow with 29 points.

Knee finished with an excellent Stableford score of 39 points – five clear of second place – while playing off a handicap of 11, one of the lowest in the field.

Knee was presented with the Accountancy Age Masters jacket by Accountancy Age publishing director Tony Loynes and NMB-Heller chairman Stuart Parker.

He said of his victory: ‘I managed to score 24 points on the back nine holes and that clinched it for me. The course was immaculate and the organisation of the whole event has been great.

‘I managed not to hit the water too much and that was lucky. The greens played quite quickly but it was great to play here and I will enter again next year if I can.

‘The quality of the courses we have had a chance to play on, both here and in the regional finals have all been among the best in the country.

‘I would like to thank everyone involved in the competition, especially my playing partners for keeping me on the straight and narrow on the final six holes’.

Runner-up to Knee was Paul Williams, of Freightliner, who kept on trucking with a score of 34 off a nine handicap, a relatively low score for the runner-up position.

Knee pipped Dixon Wilson’s Stuart Ritchie – who played off a 13 handicap – into third place following a countback of the last six holes.

‘I have really enjoyed the whole event. What was particularly delightful was that the winning score and runners-up score came from low handicappers,’ said a delighted Ritchie.

The big-hitter of the tournament and winner of the longest drive, at the ninth, was the powerful Scott Moreland. The deft touch was provided by Geoff Lang who landed a sweet shot on the seventh, in the nearest the pin competition.

The tournament attracted over 600 golfing financial professionals, with just 37 making it through to the grand final.

That number was reduced to 36, when Nick Stewart of Dental Business Solutions was unable to attend as he and his wife were expecting the patter of tiny feet.

Finals day began with a pressure (yellow) ball team competition over 10 holes on the PGA course. The three-ball of Michael O’Hara, Jeremy Ward and Derek Felstead took the morning competition with 45 points.

O’Hara, joked: ‘Our three-ball wasted our best golf on the morning round’.

The Brabazon’ famous 311-yard tenth and 473-yard 18th holes proved especially tricky. Both holes contain water hazards, with an estimated 2,000 balls fished out of the lake on the 18th every month.

That total may well be boosted this month.

Now established as the fixture for golfing accountants, the Masters has become a premier occasion for sporting and networking excellence in the profession.

Look out for entry forms in Accountancy Age for the next Masters, which will appear at the beginning of next year.

ACCOUNTANCY AGE MASTERS FINAL – THE BELFRY

Winner: Simon Knee – 39pts

Runner-up: Paul Williams – 34pts – countback on back 6

Third: Stuart Ritchie – 34pts after countback on last six

Nearest pin: Geoff Lang

Longest drive: Scott Moreland

Colin Barr – 24pts

Huw Battrick – 19pts

Tony Brown – 23pts

David Chasemore – 25pts

Carl Cunnelly – 22pts

Richard De Dombal – 30pts

Timothy Elliott – 27pts

Derek Felstead – 26pts

Robert Freeman – 29pts

Nicholas Heynen – 21pts

Colin Howe – 22pts

Guy Howell – 29pts

Alan Hynd – 22pts

Steven Joseph – 29pts

Nick Lamb – 26pts

Geoff Lang – 27pts

Laurie Linnell – 17pts

Richard Luckett – 29pts

David Madeley – 27pts

Simon Marus – 27pts

Denis Maslin – 25pts

Peter Mills – 28pts

Scott Moreland – 30pts

Janet Nesbitt – 28pts

Michael O’Hara – 31pts

Keith Pratt – 20pts

John Rowson – 30pts

John Shaw – 24pts

Andrew Sneddon – 21pts

Douglas Stoker – 29pts

Hassam Suffraz – 28pts

Jeremy Ward – 25pts

Stephen White – 17pts

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