Thomas Schmidt secures commanding victory at Tillman Trophy
Thomas Schmidt (Tillman Trophy photo)
Thomas Schmidt, a 22-year-old golfer from Gelsenkirchen, Germany, delivered a masterclass performance at The Caversham in Reading, UK, finishing an impressive 15-under par to clinch a commanding seven-stroke victory.
Schmidt, currently a sophomore at Arkansas State and ranked 143rd on the
Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, started the final round in third place at 6-under, trailing England's Teddy Hall by three strokes.
The final day, which featured a grueling 36-hole play, saw Schmidt hit his stride. He shot exceptional rounds of 65 and 66, recording 14 birdies against a single bogey over 36 holes. Remarkably, Schmidt maintained a bogey-free streak for over 46 holes, from Hole 16 in his opening round until Hole 10 in the final round.
Schmidt's win also guaranteed him a start on the Challenge Tour, a second-rung men's pro tour in Europe in the coming weeks.
Teddy Hall, the 36-hole leader, finished at 8-under par, tying for runner-up honors with Jake Wallis. Hall posted rounds of 67, 71, 69, and 73, while Wallis recorded rounds of 73, 71, 67, and 69 to share the second-place finish.
The victory adds to an impressive season for Schmidt, who has competed in seven other ranked events. His previous best was a runner-up finish at the Sun Belt Men’s Golf Championship in April, where he narrowly lost to Hugo Thyr of South Alabama in a playoff for the title.
ABOUT THE
Stroke play over 72 holes. After 36 holes on
day
one, the leading 44 competitors and ties will
play
a further 36 holes on day two. The
Winner shall be the competitor who returns
the
lowest scratch score over 72 holes.
TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND
Bill Tillman was a fine amateur golfer in his
day
and played 13 times in the Bing Crosby Classic
in America where he was to meet Doug
Sanders
who insisted that if our youngsters were to
ever
compete on the world stage they had to get
used to playing the ‘big ball’. In those days the
British Golf Ball was 1.62 inches in diameter
and the American Ball 1.68 inches. At that
time
Bill was an EGU Committee Member but he
had
a struggle trying to persuade his colleagues in
the corridors of power and so introduced a
tournament to the UK where players could
only
use the larger ball as part of the conditions of
entry; the rest as they say is history. The
starting line-up is limited to the top 132
entries
by handicap and attracts players from around
the world.
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