OVERCOMING a painful elbow, amateur golfer John Kokolay scooped the biggest prize when he lifted the Golf Tournaments Ltd National Matchplay Championship over five rounds on the famous Vilamoura course on the Algarve.
The Windermere heating engineer only plays a handful of competitions a year and thought he had done well back in the summer when he won five matches to qualify for an all-expenses paid trip paid to the finals at Portugal's premier golf resort.
The 11-handicapper, who is a member of Ulverston Golf Club, said competition was tough at Vilamoura, but it was a real delight to play on the immaculate Algarve course.
In a number of his matches he went several shots down, but each time clawed his way back despite tennis elbow hampering his swing to emerge as the undefeated champion.
Despite his success he has no plans to increase his participation in competitions although he is now looking forward to a holiday during which he will play Singapore's exotic course.
He is pictured left driving off at Vilamoura during the competition and with his championship trophy.
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