Lindrick's Odd Couple Take Turner Shield

A very tight contest for the Turner Shield had to be decided by a back-nine count back which went the way of Lindrick's odd couple, 15 year old Tom Osborne and the rather more experienced Richard Hodgkinson, who first played in the event 15 years before his partner was born.

Four pairs tied on a one under par score of 70 at an splendidly presented Phoenix course on a day of light winds and impressive scoring. Of these four, Bondhay professional Barry Hurt and partner Reece Samson probably had most cause for regret after taking five at the driveable par four 17th.

Also tied on 70 were Renishaw's Matt Swindell and Sam Ord, and playing in the last group of the day, Nathan Rogers and Paul Higgins of Tankersley, both of whom came home in two under par 34 only to be pipped by one shot by the Lindrick pair. All three pairs birdied the 17th which proved so costly to Hurt and Samson.

A brace of birdie twos on the homeward run was what made the difference for the Lindrick pair, Osborne very nearly making a hole-in-one at the 11th, and Hodgkinson holing from distance at the 15th. "Tom played so well all day, but the tee shot at the 11th was his stand out iron shot," said Hodgkinson afterwards. "Things really fell nicely for us, because all the short putts at the end of the round were Tom's. You're definitely better off handling those with 15 year old nerves rather than 49 year old nerves. He just seems to pop them in without thinking."

Osborne is set for a summer holiday full of golf, representing Sheffield boys, Yorkshire boys, and "hopefully" he says, England under 16s as well, before returning to school in early September. Hodgkinson, conversely, should not even have been playing at all. Head professional John King was scheduled to be playing, but having successfully qualified for the Senior Open Championship on Monday he pulled out, leading to a late phone call to the former Sheffield Captain on Monday afternoon. "Tom and I had never played together before, and my golf has been so dreadful this year that expectations were between none and non-existent," said Hodgkinson. "But when you have a partner who chips and putts like Jordan Spieth, it doesn't really matter where you hit it. It's all a lovely surprise."

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