An Eastbourne golfer competed in the grand final of the new-look 2015 Titleist Order of Merit, powered by HowDidiDo, which culminated on the Brabazon Ryder Cup course at the Belfry.
Brandy Rook, 17, from Royal Eastbourne Golf Club and who lives in Eastbourne, qualified for the final courtesy of his consistent club performances throughout the year.
The free-to-enter championship – in which almost 25,000 club golfers nationwide compete and which is run in association with Golf Monthly – has been established for a number of years, but this is the first time a grand final has been played out. Previously, those who finished top of their division at the mid-October cut-off point were crowned champions.
But, in a change to the format for 2015, points from a player’s top five individual strokeplay rounds were counted, as well as additional points for gross birdies and eagles. The top performers from each home nation in a range of handicap categories – including men’s and women’s division 1 and juniors – then qualified for the first grand final, where the points were reset.
The new system was designed to reward golfers for frequent, consistent play during the six-month qualifying period from April to October, and 40 golfers, from across the UK and Ireland, competed for divisional and Home Nation team titles at four-time Ryder Cup venue the Belfry.
Unfortunately, Rook missed out, as Ireland took the team honours and one-handicapper Joanne Morris (Willesley Park GC) took the overall individual championship with an impressive nett 75.
As well as taking part in the flagship event over The Belfry’s iconic Brabazon course – a layout steeped in Ryder Cup history – the finalists played a practice round, attended a gala dinner and stayed overnight in the recently refurbished hotel.
There was much to play for, with the overall winner receiving a full set of custom-fitted Titleist 716 irons, Titleist golf balls and a Titleist Tour bag. All six divisional winners also received a Titleist stand bag, balls and a Footjoy glove. And the event sponsor also afforded the finalists the opportunity to sample the latest equipment, enjoy a ball ‘fitting’ and join the technicians on the Titleist Tour Truck for a ‘Tour pro’ experience.
Barry Dyett, managing director of Howdidido Media, said: “The Order of Merit has gone from strength to strength since its inception more than five years ago and we now believe that, with the grand final, we have an end-of-season event that captures perfectly the spirit and standing of the competition.
“We are extremely proud to offer such a popular event for golfers across the year, and we hope even more golfers will want to win their place at next year’s grand final and represent their home nation.”
He added: “Titleist has always been a fantastic partner for HowDidiDo, and is always looking for new and exciting ways to engage with our users. The fact they were able to bring the tour truck along to the grand final, and provide the finalists with unique opportunities to experience life as a tour pro, just underlines their commitment.”
HowDidiDo is Europe’s largest golfing community, holding in excess of 21 million rounds of golf along with the handicaps, results and scores of more than 1,300,000 UK golf club members, with more than 460,000 golfers currently using the website.
More than 1,800 golf clubs currently use the HowDidiDo system, allowing members to analyse their game and compare performance with other players – at their own club or across the entire HowDidiDo network. It is also used for official CONGU handicapping and competition results.
HowDidiDo, in association with the Daily Telegraph, is also currently engaged in a widespread campaign with the BOSS Watches H1 Club to reward all its registered golfers with a luxury timepiece should they record a hole-in-one during an official club competition.
It also powers the Morocco Matchplay, a UK singles and pairs competition culminating in a grand final in the North African country, in February.
RESULTS: Home Nation Champion – Ireland; overall winner – Jo Morris (England, Willesley Park GC); Men’s Division 1 – Columb Harrington (Ireland, Buckingham GC); Men’s Division 2 – Ciaran Brennan (Ireland, Haverhill GC); Men’s Division 3 – Frank Staunton (Ireland, Roganstown GC); Women’s Division 1 – Susan Wood (Scotland, Drumpellier GC); Women’s Division 2 – Denise Elrick (Scotland, Aboyne GC); Junior – Harry Thompson (Ireland, Enniskillen GC).