Taylor triumphs at John O’Gaunt

Brett Taylor landed top spot in the £10,000 John O’Gaunt Pro-Am after firing a two-under-par round of 69.

Taylor (Brett Taylor Golf) made six birdies in total in securing top spot by a shot from Noel Quinn (Whipsnade Park) and Ben Cooper (Bishop’s Stortford).

The winner, who teed off at the 10th made what would prove to be a decisive move around the turn, birdieing three straight holes from the 17th.

There were a couple of blips on his inward nine but Taylor played the last four holes in one-under-par to post a very good score at the fine but testing Bedfordshire course.

Cooper notched three birdies in his final four holes to secure a share of the runner-up spoils.

Quinn fought back well after dropping two strokes early on. He birdied 16 and 17 in coming home in 32.

James Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City) and Glen Portelli continued their solid starts to the season by shooting level-par 71s. They finished tied for fourth alongside Jason Levermore (Channels) and Tom Obergan (Berkhamsted).

There were over 50 teams in a superb pro-am competition with Taylor enjoying double delight as he skipped his quartet to success on a tally of 129 points – two clear of the next best.