The fourth Summit Merit takes place at Woodfield tomorrow at 7 p.m. on their top green.
There are two former winners in the field. Last year’s Champion Elliot McGuinness is looking to retain his crown, and plays Grant Soller, who led Moseley CC to their best ever finish in this league of 3rd. The winner of this will play Rachel Bennett, winner of the George Pritchatt Ladies Classic, or Mark Gamsby of Tanworth in Arden.
The other winner is from 2024, James Seville, who is playing former Penn Open winner Nathan Dawes in what looks the game of the 1st round. The winner of this will face another tough game as Staffordshire Merit winner Aaron Tapper plays Adam Weaver, who led Boldmere Sports & Social to Division One glory last season.
| 1 | Nathan Dawes | James Seville |
| 2 | Aaron Tapper | Adam Weaver |
| 3 | Rachel Bennett | Mark Gamsby |
| 4 | Elliot McGuinness | Grant Soller |
Dress code applies.
There will be a programme available.
The Prize Money is as follows:
Winner – £160
Runner-up – £80
Semi Finalist – £40
Quarter Finalist – £20
Results will be updated here.
Qualifying
We have our 8 finalist for the 2026 Summit Merit.
At Boldmere St. Michaels the holder Elliot McGuinness got through after beating Ashley Bracken 16. 2024 winner James Seville also got through after beating John Beet, with the other four players are all first time qualifiers. Rachel Bennett got past Matt Grundy 19 and Phil Clinton 11, Grant Soller defeated Ryan Hocknull 18, Mark Gamsby beat Craig Webb 10 and Adam Weaver overcame Ivan Smout 16.
| Qualifiers | ||||
| 1 | Rachel Bennett | 21 | 11 | Phil Clinton |
| 2 | Grant Soller | 21 | 18 | Ryan Hocknull |
| 3 | Mark Gamsby | 21 | 10 | Craig Webb |
| 4 | Adam Weaver | 21 | 16 | Ivan Smout |
| 5 | James Seville | 21 | N/A | John Beet |
| 6 | Elliot McGuinness | 21 | 16 | Ashley Bracken |
| Prelims | ||||
| 1 | Rachel Bennett | 21 | 19 | Matthew Grundy |
| 2 | Phil Clinton | 21 | 15 | Jon Palmer |
At Penn saw Aaron Tapper qualify again by beating Kevin Hocknull 13 and Callum Mitchell 11, and Nathan Dawes get through after defeating Richard Holmes 7.
| 1 | Aaron Tapper | 21 | 11 | Callum Mitchell |
| 2 | Nathan Dawes | 21 | 7 | Richard Holmes |
| 1 | Callum Mitchell | 21 | 11 | John Newey |
| 2 | Aaron Tapper | 21 | 13 | Kevin Hocknull |
| 3 | Nathan Dawes | 21 | 0 | BYE |
| 4 | Richard Holmes | 21 | 0 | BYE |
Thank you to John Newey and Phil Clinton on running the two venues, as well as Boldmere and Penn for hosting. Thank you to Amy Dandy for marking all three cards at Penn!
