Order of Merit Winner

The Forest of Galtres season-long championship has come to an end and this year’s winner is club captain Mark Owers, a 5 handicapper whose consistent play across 27 eligible competitions netted him the Order of Merit 2013 title.

Mark scored a total of 139 points from his performances, only 1 point ahead of runner-up Stewart Dixon, for the second year running.  Last year we saw the competition come down to the last round and last hole to be the decider. This was a hard fought competition and again it was a 2 horse race.  It did not fail to disappoint again this year either, as these to fierce competitors brought the competition down to the final hole of the final competition both still fighting for victory for the 2^nd successive year. But it was Mark who walked away with a fantastic birdie 3 to claim his victory. Well done to them both for making it so competitive right to the very end.

Vice Captain and past Order of Merit winner (2009, 2011), Simon Witham said "Mark's a class act – he played superbly well time and time again and, despite our best efforts, we were never able to catch him and Stewart as they set a high standard from the start. It’s good to see Mark crowned this year’s champion – but next year we'll all be gunning for him!"

Champion Mark Owers said: "I am honoured and proud to be the winner of the 2013 Order of Merit. It is unbelievable that for the second year running Stewart and I have gone down the 18^th in the final competition both with a chance of winning the OoM! He is a great competitor and a very good golfer. With one shot in it over a season it could have easily gone either way and I pay tribute to his consistency and sportsmanship."

A vital ingredient in the success of the OoM was the support of our members so a big thanks to everyone who took part and good luck to you with your preparation for next year’s competition.

Gavin McAuley
Competitions Committee