DESPITE hitting an excellent hole-in-one, Barry Stewart had to settle for second place in Hartley Wintney Golf Club's May Monthly Medal.

Stewart made his ace on the club's notoriously difficult 174-yard ninth hole. Using his seven-wood, he managed to avoid the trees and bunkers that protect the green and was delighted to see the ball find the bottom of the cup.

It was a good day all-round for Stewart, with the hole-in-one helping him to a nett round of 67 (-4).

However, Paul de Noronha managed to do even better, carding a nett round of 65 (-6) to win the competition by two shots. Luke Hicks was third with a nett round of 68 (-3).

Lee Ollernshaw will partner club professional Martin Smith in the regional final of the Lombard Trophy after winning the Watts Cup.

A grand total of 41 points earned Ollernshaw victory, two points clear of his three nearest rivals.

de Noronha claimed second place on countback, just ahead of third-placed man Paul Dickinson.

Ollernshaw's prize is to partner Smith in a fourball competition at Walton Heath, which will take place in early July.

If they manage to win that, they will secure one of 16 coveted sports available for the 36-hole grand final, which will be played on the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles, the venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup.

The Gleneagles dreams of two other north Hampshire pairs came to an end in a regional final at Camberley Heath last week.

Sherfield Oaks professional Richard Lewington and club member Alan Edwards finished in a tie for sixth place after amassing a four-under-par total of 67. While they missed out on a place in the final by just two shots, they did win £100.

Test Valley's Alistair Briggs and Graham Devereux ended up in a tie for 22nd after a level-par round of 71.

Hartley Wintney's Ollerenshaw will go into his regional qualifier in fine form.

In addition to winning the Watts Cup, he also claimed first place in a recently-played drawn medal.

A nett score of 67 (-4) earned him his first medal victory at the club, beating second-placed Adrian Squibb by three shots. Jamie Mullen was a further shot back in third place, beating Luke Hicks on countback after both shot nett level par rounds of 71.