Andy DevaneyA blob on the 17th is a difficult thing to carry down the last. So is a first-round score that leaves you six points off the lead. At Woodhall Spa, both problems ended with a winner’s name on the board.
Graham Bowers of Burnham on Crouch claimed the 2026 Senior Series Grand Final by a single point, while Sand Martins golfer Lee Irvine won the separate England Captains Grand Final after producing the round of his week on the Hotchkin Course.
The two competitions shared a venue and a two-day test, but their champions arrived by very different routes.
Bowers makes 71 points stand up
Bowers’ total of 71 points was assembled the hard way: 32 on the Bracken Course followed by 39 on the Hotchkin.
Alistair Booth of Frilford Heath and John Hall of Brocton Hall finished one behind on 70, leaving remarkably little room for the mistake Bowers made near the finish.
His opening round had been steady rather than spectacular. Playing off seven on the Bracken, he recorded nine pars and survived a course he admitted finding the tougher of the two.
The following day, playing off ten on the Hotchkin, he made eight pars and two birdies.
One of those birdies came at the first, a hole he said he had never previously managed to par. Then came the 17th, where he failed to score a point. A par at the last kept the challenge alive. Only afterwards did he discover it had been enough.
“On the Hotchkin I started really well with a birdie – having never parred it before – I thought I’d blown it on 17 when I blobbed it but I managed to par the last. I didn’t think it’d be enough so I was surprised!”
Before the final round, Bowers had reckoned he would need 40 points to give himself a chance. He finished one short of that target and still won.
It was a first Senior Series title for Bowers, who had qualified by winning at Stockport and had previously reached the final without troubling the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ve played in the final a few times and always finished in the middle of the field, so I’m chuffed to win it! It feels fantastic.”
Seventy-four players contested the Senior Series Grand Final. Ultimately, a single point separated the champion from two runners-up.
Irvine finds 44 points when he needs them most
The England Captains contest, sponsored by Ambassador Cruise Line, offered a more dramatic movement up the standings.
Irvine opened with 29 points on the Bracken, a round played in heavy rain. The following day he produced 44 on the Hotchkin, with eight pars off a handicap of 23, to finish on 73.
That was four clear of Paul Blackham of Forest Pines, who took second with 69. Three other competitors finished on 67.
Irvine had arrived at Woodhall Spa after winning Division 2 at a qualifying event at Blackmoor, but after the opening day he was six points adrift and hardly expecting to finish at the top.
“I was six points back. As the round was going I knew I was doing quite well – I got nervy on the back when I reached 40 points and knowing I could be in contention. I wobbled a bit but managed to get a couple more points to get me the win.”
There is a particular cruelty to golf’s arithmetic: a player can spend most of a round chasing a number, then become anxious the moment it appears attainable.
Irvine’s response was to keep collecting points long enough for 44 to become the decisive figure.
His Hotchkin round was an improvement of 15 points on the previous day. Rather than simply making up ground, he finished with a four-point winning margin. Quite a turnaround for somebody who had been contemplating a rather less triumphant drive home.
More than a final score
Bowers credited his playing partners John and Patrick with helping him through his round. Irvine, meanwhile, pointed to what the England Captains competition means to people who put time into running their clubs.
“Captains work ever so hard for their golf clubs so it’s great that England Golf run this competition to recognise them. I’ve made so many friends on this and lifelong ones – it’s good fun, there’s a good community feel about it.”
Both winners spoke about the friendships that bring competitors back to these events.
That may be the appeal away from the scorecards, but the scorecards still supplied the drama: Bowers had just enough left after his 17th-hole slip, and Irvine found 44 points when his week appeared to be going nowhere.
