If ever there was a day that summed up British summer golf, this was it. The Border Niblicks was played through a little bit of everything. Wind. Horizontal rain. Then sunshine. Then more wind. Then more rain. After weeks without a drop, Mersey Valley finally got the watering it had been crying out for and, despite the punishment from the skies above, the course stood up magnificently. The greens ran true all day, the fairways looked superb and the course was rewarded for soaking up some much-needed moisture overnight. It was brutal in places for the players, but the condition of the course was a credit to the greenkeeping team. At the top of the leaderboard, take a bow Richie Emery. Richie produced the round of the day, battling through conditions that changed by the minute to claim the Border Niblicks title with a superb nett 71. While others struggled to keep scorecards dry and golf balls on line, Richie kept plugging away, handling whatever the weather threw at him and emerging as a worthy winner. On a day when resilience was every bit as important as talent, he showed plenty of both. A special mention also goes to Mark Scott, whose excellent 81 secured Lowest Gross honours. A quality score in conditions that were anything but straightforward. But while Richie lifted the trophy, the moment of the day belonged to Eric Peel. Standing on the 2nd tee, with the wind swirling and the rain never far away, Peel produced golfing perfection. One swing, one ball, one hole. An ace. A hole-in-one. The rarest and most magical shot in golf. For everyone fortunate enough to witness it, it was the story of the day and the shot that was talked about on course and I'm sure in the clubhouse for months to come. So congratulations to Richie Emery for a superb Border Niblicks victory, congratulations to Mark Scott for Lowest Gross, and a huge salute to Eric Peel for producing a moment of golfing magic. Summer golf? Absolutely. British summer golf? Without question.