Alan Mew Makes History with Fifth Hampshire Seniors Title at Age 72

He also achieved the rare feat of beating his age with a second-round score of level-par 70, securing a four-shot victory over fellow Stoneham member Richard Elmes.

Both players have captained Hampshire’s senior squad in the past 15 years. Mew has also led the English Seniors team and previously competed on the European Seniors Tour after turning professional in 2003.

The championship, played at Brokenhurst Manor, saw softened fairways following overnight rain.

Elmes held a two-shot lead after round one, aided by consistent play. However, Mew’s birdie at the turn and Elmes’ bogeys at the seventh and ninth swung the momentum.

By the back nine, Mew led by one, aiming to add to his previous titles from 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2020.

Elmes and Mew matched bogeys on 10 and 11. Elmes dropped another shot at the 13th but gained it back on the 14th.

Mew’s birdie on 16 gave him a two-shot lead before Elmes stumbled with a double-bogey on the 17th. Mew finished with a two-over-par total to clinch the title.

A former Irish Seniors Amateur Champion (2019), Mew first won the Hampshire Over 55s in 2012 at age 59, after regaining amateur status.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he once played on the European Tour and is known for his iron accuracy, showcased by two birdie twos at the par-three third and fifth holes in round one.

Royal Winchester’s Andy Litton finished third (76, 73), while Brokenhurst’s Idris Vernall took fourth on countback and won the handicap title with net rounds of 67 and 66, beating his own age.

He outperformed Hartley Witney’s Adam Bushell by six shots in the handicap section and also finished second to Mew in the over-70s category.

Litton took top honours in the 55–59 group. Elmes claimed the 60–64 age group title, beating Andy Bow—another former Hampshire captain—by five shots.

David Price of Test Valley won the 65–69 section on countback, edging 2022 champion Oscar O’Herlihy after both posted 12-over totals.