And the winner is…

This year’s BMJ Golf Classic reached its conclusion in style last week as the remaining players crossed the channel to take part in the competition final in Le Touquet.

After closely contested heats at John O’Gaunt, Little Aston and Fulford, the original entrants were whittled down to the best 40. These players, courtesy of the event’s sponsors, were then taken to France to compete for what has become the Masters of the industry.

The trip started on Thursday with coaches across to Calais and then a short journey down the coast to the prestigious Westminster hotel in Le Touquet. The party dined in style at Chez Perard, the best fish restaurant in the town (although the draw of the Wales Rugby game in the Irish pub across the road was too much for some!). However, it was early(ish) nights all round ready for the culmination of the competition on Friday morning.

The final took place on Friday at Les Pins golf course at Hardelot, just outside Le Touquet. And even the weather was with us from the start, providing a glorious sunny day. The players went off in 10 four balls with the competitive spirit running high from the very start.

It was unsurprising then that the final scores were very impressive, but there had to be a winning team, and with 113 points Lindsay Wright, David Young, Adrian L’Estrange and David Singleton took the top spot. At the awards dinner on Friday night, held in the beautiful Shetland Room at the hotel, they were presented with their prizes – Tiffany & Co glass bowls.

In second place were Stuart Davidson, Steve Daniels, Sam Hill and Ken Pepperrell (whose first drive of the day was a sight to behold!) who each received two crystal whiskey tumblers. Peter Montgomery, Phil Kennerson, Dave Lovell and Steve Barnett, who each received the whiskey to drink out of them, followed in third place.

Steve Lovell also won the best individual competitor score of the day, receiving a bottle of champagne, as did Stephen Eddy who had the highest sponsor score.

Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thanks to all those who took part for making the competition a real high point in the industry calendar. As ever, BMJ would particularly like to say a huge thanks to the event’s sponsors, without whom the Golf Classic would not be possible. They are Castle Cement, Catnic, Feb, Hanson, Hepworth and Marshalls.

And remember, keep an eye on the website for the details of next year’s competition. We’ll be publishing them later in the year.

Click here to view the photos from the final (and the other heats) and to see some of the comments we’ve had about the event.

Or click here to go to our Le Touquet caption competition and add your captions to some of the more amusing pictures from the golf!