Mark Pilkington has claimed victory at the 2019 Foremost Golf Professionals’ Championship, coming out on top at The Oxfordshire in a field of 126 member professionals from around the country.
Pilkington, from Porthmadog Golf Club in North Wales, shot an impressive bogey-free round of 68 (-4) to pip Peter Baker, who won the seniors category, by a single shot.
A former Challenge Tour winner and European Tour player, Pilkington was playing in the Foremost Golf Professionals’ Championship for the first time having taken over as Head Professional at Porthmadog in August 2018.
Supported again for the fifth consecutive year by Glenmuir, the championship was played in extremely blustery conditions and frequent heavy rain showers, with an impressive 10 players managing to return sub-par scores.
“I’m really pleased to have won against such a strong field at a great venue. I played some steady golf considering the challenging conditions and made a great putt on the last to save par,” commented Pilkington. “I’ve been really impressed with how the championship was run and I enjoyed playing the course. When you come to a great venue for a tournament like this it inspires you to up your game, which I was able to do.
“As a relatively new member to the group, being part of Foremost has been extremely positive and having that industry knowledge and experience supporting me makes a big difference to my business and members.”
In the second year since the over 50’s category was introduced to the Foremost Professionals’ Championship, Peter Baker proved a worthy winner, carding an impressive three-under par 69.
Now the Director of Golf at The South Staffordshire Golf Club, Baker is no stranger to playing in big events having represented Europe in the 1993 Ryder Cup and recorded three European Tour wins in his outstanding career.
Commenting on the success of this year’s championships, Paul Hedges, Foremost CEO, commented: “Despite the awful weather, there were some really impressive scores put together. The experience level and pedigree of both of our winners shows how high the standard of golf is and how competitive this championship is every year.
“As well as our sponsors, I’d like to thank all our member professionals who took part, and we wish them well for the season ahead and look forward to welcoming in the Assistant Professionals for the Assistants’ Championship in July.”
Speaking about the relationship between Glenmuir and Foremost, Matthew Eagle, UK and Ireland Sales Director for Glenmuir, said: “It’s vital for us to be involved with this event as it provides a great opportunity to engage with lots of the Foremost members.
“We’re very proud to be associated with Foremost as their Approved Crested Supplier. We work very hard to make sure that each individual Foremost member’s club crest is represented well on the garment and is professionally done.
“It’s key for us to be involved at this level and we’ll continue to do our best to make sure our service is the best in the industry.”
Foremost will return to The Oxfordshire on Wednesday 3rd July for the annual Assistants’ Championship where Stinchcombe Hill’s Mark Pitcher will look to defend his 2018 victory.
To submit your entry, please contact Ian Melham on 01753 218 890 or at ian.melham@foremostgolf.com.
For more information on Foremost, visit grip.foremostgolf.com or follow @ForemostGolf on Twitter.
If you are interested in joining Foremost, please contact Leanne Spence on 01753 218 891 or email leanne@foremostgolf.com
Pictured top from left: Seniors winner Peter Baker, Glenmuir UK and Ireland Sales Director Matthew Eagle, and Overall winner Mark Pilkington