Will Eagar 

A strong field of 39 players entered the 2004 London Open at Broomfield Park which, in a change to the previous year's format, was played over 36 holes. 

Newly-crowned British Champion Michael Webb was perhaps the pre-tournament favourite, but an uncharacteristic 4 at the 6th hole could not have been part of his pre-tournament game plan. However one mark of a champion player is the ability to put such setbacks out of their mind, and Michael did just that - rallying with aces at the 11th and 16th to end the first round on 37, one under the course par.

With playing conditions quite favourable (greens damp but not wet), it was surprising that no one shot lower than 37. It was also unexpected to see Ted McIver alongside Webb at the head of the half-way leaderboard. Three times a British Champion, Ted's record in recent years has been second only to that of his arch rival Tim Davies. But he had never previously found form at the Broomfield Park course; and with his pre-tournament preparations amounting to a night out on the town and half an hour of practice on the morning of the event, few had predicted him to improve on his fifth-place finish in 2003. But those who write Ted off do so at their peril. He began his round with forgivable 3s at the 17th and 18th and, with the difficult holes out of his way, settled into playing some steady, confident minigolf. The highlight of his round was an ace at the horseshoe 11th hole.

If McIver's presence at the head of the field raised eyebrows, then the performance of his Planet-Hastings team-mate Bill Bullin measured eight on the Richter scale. Ranked 26th in the country at the start of play - and taking part in a competition outside his home town for the first time - Bill's only errors came at the tricky 6th and 10th holes. Other than that, his round was faultless - and an ace at the 16th added to his glee. But the question remained - how would he cope with the pressure of playing alongside the current and deposed British Champions in the final round?

In fact there would be three Planet Hastings players in the grandstand second round quartet - Tim 'Ace Man' Davies poised dangerously just a shot off the lead after a dropped shot at the 1st had cancelled out his ace at the 3rd hole.

The leaderboard was very tightly bunched with just two shots covering the top ten players after 18 holes. Robert 'The Master' Vallory and his fierce rival Lionel Bender (previously a winner of the Players' Championship at Broomfield Park) were among the group who lay at one-over-par after solid rounds of 39. Alongside them was reigning London Open champion Peter Parr, whose defence of his title got off to the worst possible start when he began by putting his first shot of the round out of bounds. Amazingly he then did exactly the same with his retake shot, meaning that he effectively started the competition with a two shot penalty. The two Wills - Eagar and Knight - both had solid rounds, shooting 39 and 40 respectively, though their performances were somewhat overshadowed by the exploits of Bill Bullin in the same group.

The battle to be leading novice was also hotting up, with Mark Springall and Brad Shepherd both on 39; and David Corkett just one shot further back. 

Keith Kellard had been expected to mount a strong challenge after frequent practice sessions at Broomfield Park in the weeks leading up to the event, but a 4 at the 17th meant he had to be content with an opening round of 41. Jon Angel, runner-up in the British Championships, took a whopping 6 at the same hole; and also slumped to a 4 at the 1st. His uncharacteristic round of 44 left him down in 22nd place after the first round.

With the pressure off, Angel did improve in round two. His two-under total of 36 (including 16 twos) equalled his own course record - leaving him to rue what might have been. Steve Gow, Steve Vallory and Sally Weddell also moved up the standings after good second rounds, posting scores of 38, 39 and 42 respectively.

The battle to finish as top novice went almost to the wire. At one stage, David Corkett looked to be in a commanding position, but a 6 at the 17th stopped him in his tracks. Remarkably, he still managed a sub-40 round despite that triple-bogey, but in the end a two-round total of 79 was just one shot too many.

The other two leading contenders in the novice race had the advantage of playing together in the same group. Mark Springall nudged ahead with aces at 8 and 11; and when Brad Shepherd stumbled to a trio of threes at holes 11-13, the cheque looked as good as in his bank. There was to be a twist in the tail, however. A bogey 4 at the 17th brought Mark back to the field. Unnerved, he then took 6 at the 18th and eventually finished four shots adrift.

Brad Shepherd, meanwhile, closed strongly to finish with a second successive round of 39. Not only did it give him the novice prize - it also put him in seventh place overall (though tied for fourth on total shots taken) and earned him a last-minute call-up to the Great Britain national minigolf team. Not bad for someone making their tournament debut!

With the leaderboard so tightly bunched, it was difficult to keep track of where everyone was in the relation to their rivals. A dropped shot could cost you several places; an ace might catapult you up the standings. Will Knight was enjoying perhaps his best ever tournament and playing his way into contention with a succession of twos, but a 5 at the 18th plunged him way down outside the top ten. Keith Kellard was heading the other way - a three at the third the only blemish in an otherwise faultless round - but his opening 41 had left him with too much to do. Peter Parr knew it wasn't to be his day the moment his first shot of the round went out of bounds (again!), while Lionel Bender's chances ended with a 4 at the 13th. 

Meanwhile, in the final quartet, a battle of nerve as well as skill was under way. While Bill Bullin showed no sign of being overawed, Michael Webb and Tim Davies - two players far more used to being there or thereabouts in the final round of a competition - dropped shots at the 2nd hole. And Ted McIver's three at the 4th - statistically the easiest hole on the course - was the first of four schoolboy errors from the flamboyant British number two.

While Michael Webb recovered from his bogey at 2 to settle into his rhythm, Tim Davies went from bad to worse with a dropped shot at 5 and a double-bogey at 6. He eventually steadied his ship and pulled off an ace at 14, but by then the damage had been done. With four holes to play, he was two shots adrift of Bullin and Webb.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to the final group, a challenge was emerging from the penultimate foursome. Will 'Two Putts' Eagar, a former handicap two golfer, seemed finally to have shaken off his post Bad-Munder hangover. He aced the third hole; made par at the rest. So focussed was Will that, at the 12th, his fellow players had to point out to him that it was his turn to play. Still in a trance-like state, he went on to ace the hole. Pars at the treacherous 13th and 17th left him, with two holes to play, on course for a record round of 34. 

But at the 18, disaster struck. Eagar's first shot bobbled out of bounds alongside the obstacle. Robert Vallory - who had blown his own chances of victory with a four at the previous hole - looked on in sympathy, his own similar experience at the 2000 Players' Championship still fresh in his mind. To his credit, Eagar recovered to escape with a four. And, finishing off his round at the first hole, he salvaged a par after it looked for an agonising moment as though he might have left himself snookered behind the obstacle. But, with the final group still to play the 17th and 18th, there was a feeling that Two Putts had blown his chance.

Bill Bullin's round so far had been a model of consistency - a watching spectator (had there been any!) would have assumed that he was the player in the final group with all the experience. However, whether it was the pressure or just a misjudged shot, at the 17th he hit one of the rocks. His ball came to rest in a difficult position and he trudged off the green with a bogey 4. For Michael Webb, next to play, the title was there for the taking. Although Michael himself ran into difficulties, a par-3 was enough put him a shot ahead of Bill going into the final hole.

In the previous round, Michael had taken 3 at the 18th while Bill had managed a highly commendable 2. In a tense finale, Bill holed out for another birdie, meaning Michael would have to do likewise to beat him by a shot. It wasn't to be: Michael's second putt just missed the cup and he tapped in for par leaving the two players tied - and heading, so they thought, for a play-off to decide the champion.

It was only then that news of Will Eagar's round of 36 filtered through. The London player had finished the competition on 75, one shot under par and, more importantly, one stroke ahead of Michael and Bill. After going so close at the 2003 British Championship, Two Putts had finally claimed his first win in a national BMGA Tour event. The victory was all the more praiseworthy given that he had used only a standard minigolf ball. For Bill and Michael, who sportingly agreed to share second place, it was a case of so near and yet so far. Nevertheless, for Bill in particular it had been an excellent tournament and his performance should give him the confidence to go on and win other events.

Ted McIver eventually finished fourth, three shots off the lead and alongside Tim Davies, who remained top of the British rankings despite still searching for his first win in a national event in 2004. Two 39s left Robert Vallory down in sixth place although, to his great relief and satisfaction, a shot ahead of Lionel.

Our thanks go to Alan Kdadir and Ian Scagnelli of Broomfield Park Adventure Golf for making the course available for the competition and for putting up the £250 prize fund; to Jon Angel for organising another successful and highly enjoyable event; and to all those who travel from near and far to take part. Here's to another exciting finish in 2005.

* Equals BMGA record

N = Novice

See Section 7, Rule 5.2 for deciding places

An additional 100 Ranking Points were gained by LMC A team members Mr Michael Webb, Jon Angel, Russ Dent & Keith Kellard for winning the British Team Championship.