Greetham Valley: Isabella and Russ head Order of Merit race

On Saturday, round seven of the Winter Order of Merit was played in cold, blustery and wet conditions with a slightly reduced field.

The overall winner was Nick Cunnington on 40 points, a point ahead of runner-up Steff Dutton, while third place went to Russ Holden, his second top three finish in as many weeks.

Holden leads the overall standings with 155 points followed by Tony Mould on 129, Darren Houghton (127), and Nick Cunnington (125).

A further seven players have 100-plus points and are all within one good result of moving into contention with three rounds left.

* The penultimate round of the Winter League took place on Sunday on the Lakes course where a win for Tony Mould and Ian Copley in Division One secured their position in the knockout stages with a 100 per cent record.

In Division Two, there is a fight between leaders Jon and Jamie Herbert with four other pairs, any of whom could win if team Herbert slips up.

Sam McCall and Chris Ellis secured their place in the knockout stages in Division Three, while Division Four is Martin Thwaites and Paul Dickinson’s to lose, but two other teams remain in with a shout.

Similarly in Division Five, Graham Smith and Ian Copley can secure their place with a win next time out.

* Week 15 of the Ladies’ Order of Merit was played on another tough cold wintry day with strong wind and showers.

But Kay Ropson played a wonderful round to win and secure maximum OoM points, whiel also having her handicap reduced by one shot to 6.4.

Isabella Condie and Nicola Toon finished joint second and their handicaps were reduced by half-a-shot to 27.5 and 14.2 respectively.

The points helped Isabella return to first place overall and increase the gap between her and Sophie Beardsall and Jackie Friend in the leaderboard. Kay moved up into fourth place.