Hague lifts Seaton Salver

SEATON CAREW Golf Club could not have wished for a more fitting climax to the 50th anniversary of their annual open scratch competition for the Seaton Salver. Slightly overcast skies and the gentlest of breezes greeted the early starters in the 58-man field and with such benign conditions the expectation was for low scores.

Within four hours those expectations were being realised with home players dominating the leaderboard. Scott Phillips and Cameron Wallace were tied for first place with opening rounds of 68, two shots clear of David Hague from Malton & Norton, closely followed by three more Seaton players, Chris Gilbraith, Ian Hendry and Phil Nicholson. However, as is often the case on Seaton’s links, when the afternoon round got underway the easterly breeze turned through 180 degrees, increased in strength and brought with it a light but continuous drizzle.

A scrambling 73 saw Phillips’ chances slowly dissolve, but another steady round of 68 by Cameron Wallace left only a handful of players in with a chance of catching him. As the scores came in it became ever more apparent that it would take a stunning round to lift the title, and it all came down to the very last group and just one man, Hague.

He required a five-under 66 to take the crown and that is exactly what he produced with a birdie, birdie, par finish on Seaton’s difficult closing stretch. So, after an epic 36 holes of golf, the 2019 Seaton Salver winner was Hague, who has battled illnesses for much of this year.