Gough tops English Amateur, adding to major wins from 2018
Connor Gough (England Golf/Twitter photo)
Conor Gough produced a sparkling performance to win the English Amateur Championship on Saturday at Hankley Common in Surrey, England.
The 16-year-old from beat 20-year-old Callum Farr, 3 and 2, in the final to add to the McGregor Trophy and the British Boys’ titles he won last year.
Gough spent much of the early part of the season concentrating on academics but clearly the forced break has had no detrimental effect on his golf.
He began the morning round of the final by hitting a 350-yard drive down the first and then holing out from 12-feet for a birdie. Seven holes later he was 3 up after a birdie on the sixth and an eagle on the eighth.
The 20-year-old Farr claimed his first hole of the day when he birdied from just off the front of the green at the 10th but he could never quite reel in his opponent and he was 4 down heading into lunch before he won the 18th with a par.
Farr started the second round successfully by winning the first with a birdie and the second with a par but he found himself three down again after dropping shots at both the fourth and the fifth. After that, the pair shared eight birdies between them before Gough sealed victory with a testing 4-foot downhill putt for a par on the short 16th.
“It feels great to win,” Gough said moments after holing the winning putt. “I played really well. I love match play and as soon as I got through the stroke-play qualifier I knew I had a good chance.
“I’m proud of myself. I’ve got a couple of big weeks coming up so I hope I can keep things going.
“I’ve got the Boys’ Home Internationals next week and then the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst. I’m really looking forward to that. It’s the same format as this so hopefully I can put in another good performance.”
It was impossible not to feel for England “A” squad member Farr who has now reached the last four and the last two in the past two years without tasting success.
“I hit the ball better this afternoon but just couldn’t get the putts to drop,” he said. “I’m disappointed but Conor is a very good player and he deserved to win because he played a lot better than me.
“I got to the semifinal last year and now the final so maybe next year will be my year,” he added.
ABOUT THE
English Amateur
The English Amateur was played in its inaugural
year of 1925 at Hoylake when local golfer T
Froes Ellison captured the title. He successfully
defended the following year at Walton
Heath, a feat achieved by only six others: Frank
Pennink, Alan Thirlwell, Michael Bonallack, Harry
Ashby, Mark Foster, and Paul Casey. Sir Nick
Faldo is the most famous to have won the event
as the six-time major champion won the 1975
tournament at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
The tournament consists of two stroke
play rounds, after which the top 64 players
will advance to the match
play rounds, culminating in a 36-hole final
between two finalists.
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