MARTIN Sell returned to the top of the leaderboard for his first Jamega Pro Golf Tour victory of 2015 at the Bedfordshire this week.

Wrag Barn's Sell, the reigning Jamega Tour overall champion, 35, finished seven under par and one shot clear of James Ruebotham, from Welwyn Garden City, after a closely fought contest rested on the final putt.

Sell’s 133 total on the par 70 course matched his score from last year, but on that occasion an inspired final round 64 by Simon Lilly forced him into the runner-up spot.

This time it was Ruebotham who made the early inroads and an opening 66 saw him tied in a one-shot lead with Taplow’s Craig Ainsley, with Sell just one adrift.

“James was in the final group for the second round and I kept looking over my shoulder to see where he was,” Sell said. “I knew a birdie at 18 would put me in a good position and I hit a really good approach to two feet and knocked it in.

“James was six-under playing the last. He had a good shot into 18 but his 10 foot putt just slipped by.”

Sell has started the year in impressive form winning the EuroPro Tour final qualifying event at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire to return to a series he has not competed in for four years.

“I’ve had a niggling shoulder injury that was holding me back,” he admitted. “But the physio has been really helpful and I had a good lesson with my coach, Matt Woods, from Newbury, last week and I’m feeling upbeat about my game.

“I haven’t needed to make any big changes for the last couple of seasons. I tend to hit it straight and neutral, and when I’m playing well I make a lot of fairways and greens.”

Sell won five times on the Jamega Tour last year and aims to add more victories by the end of the summer, but will be glad to see the back of the wet and windy conditions that have plagued the opening events this year and continued at the Bedfordshire.

“I was joking with the organisers that they have a Monday/Tuesday weather curse,” Sell said, who has stayed affiliated to Wrag Barn, where he started as a junior.

“It’s a really good tour to play,” he added. “It’s friendly and they do a great job of running events. They make you feel as if they appreciate the golfers being there. Some tours can be a bit abrupt, but here they put the players first.

“The plan is to carry on winning. I’ll play a mixture of Jamega Tour events and EuroPro and look to get back on to Challenge Tour and European Tour next season.”