THE owner of Carus Green Golf Club insists this weekend’s competition - which featured some of the country’s leading professionals and top amateurs - was the reward for years of hard work and a multi-million pound investment.

The picturesque club, which sits just off Burneside Road in Kendal, played host to more than 100 professionals with PGA North Order of Merit ranking points at stake in the Carus Green Cumbria Open.

“The bottom line is we have invested £3m in the golf course in the last three years,” said owner Graham Curtin. “We have rebuilt the entire course, club house and now have cutting edge facilities so to get an event of this stature and size is the culmination of all that hard work.

“I have had a massively positive reaction from all competitors. They don’t believe that three months ago there was not a golf course here - to get it to this standard so quickly they thought I was making it up.”

The recent revamp has turned the scenic parkland 71 par course into one of the most popular venues in the county and next year will become the home of the PGA North Region Championship.

A pro-am tournament with 41 teams of local businesses and 164 players on Friday was followed by 36 holes over the weekend.

Overall winner was David Shacklady from Mossock Hall Golf Club. Shacklady picked up the £2,000 prize and 270 points after finishing 12 under par with rounds of 64 and 66.

One of Carus Green Golf Club’s professionals, Andrew Pickering, was joint seventh after finishing on six under par from his two rounds.

Playing amongst the field of professionals were five of the area’s leading amateurs, including Windermere’s teenage sensation Adam Chapman.

Chapman, who is a member of Windermere and Carus Green Golf Clubs, qualified for day two finishing four under par and went to finish joint 11th.

“This was my first professional tournament and it was a pleasure to just be invited,” he said.

Dad Peter, who took eight months off work as a postman in Windermere to caddy for Adam while he toured the world with England, said: “He has come on leaps and bounds. I thought it might have taken a few years to develop but he is doing fantastic.”