THE Oxfordshire’s professionals, Ben Ratcliffe and Justin Barnes, came out on top in a charity marathon played across all five Leaderboard courses.

Teams from Chart Hills (Kent), Dale Hill (East Sussex), The Leaderboard Golf Centre (Reading), The Oxfordshire, and Sandford Springs (Hampshire) played every hole at all five courses in one day, teeing off at 4.30am.

Starting with 36 holes at Dale Hill, the professionals then tackled the courses at Chart Hills and The Oxfordshire.

Finally, at nearly 9pm with the light fading fast, the teams made a finishing charge to complete the last nine holes in under an hour at Sandford Springs.

Finishing in first place at level par, Ratcliffe and Justin Barnes were followed by the duo from Dale Hill.

Each course raised money for their captain’s charity and between the five teams more than £7,000 was raised, while Jennifer and Paul Gibbons – the owners of Leaderboard Golf – donated £3,000.

  • RAY Meyer, Dave Kew, Peter Gates and Tom Stott triumphed in Waterstock’s Seniors’ Midsummer’s Day tournament.

They finished on top in the Texas Scramble event, which teed off at 4.45am and raised funds for the Air Ambulance charity.