ENGLISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROSS McGOWAN MAKES IT AT LAST TO
WIN ENGLISH TITLE AT B AND B
Ross McGowan is the new English men's amateur champion. After five near misses this year the Surrey golfer finally landed the big one when he beat Oliver Fisher 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final at Burnham and Berrow.
McGowan, 24 , must have wondered if he would ever be crowned a champion but he came good in magnificent fashion being seven under par when the match concluded on the 32nd hole.
There was little to choose between the two over the opening round before McGowan finally went into lunch one-up. In perfect conditions, Fisher edged in front at the third but the 17 year old three-putted the short fifth to lose his advantage. The pair stayed level until the tenth where Fisher edged ahead again and the Essex lad seemed to be in the ascendancy but he found trouble on the long 13th, which McGowan birdie to square the contest again.
Although Fisher took the lead for the third time at the 440-yard 15th with a birdie, he lost both the 16th and 17th which allowed McGowan to edge in front for the first time, a lead he kept going into the second round.
Fisher continued to played a brave game in the end but he had to give way to McGowan’s superior play in the afternoon.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said McGowan. “I can’t really believe it has happened. After so many near misses I felt something was going to go wrong somewhere. But I knew if I stayed patient something would happen and it paid off. I only made one bogey all day and managed to birdie all the par fives.”
Fisher was naturally disappointed. “I’m gutted but I hit a lot of good shots but I probably didn’t hole enough putts,” he said. “Ross played well all day. He holed out well this morning to stay in it.”
After lunch McGowan took a decisive grip by winning four holes in six from the third. It was a burst that Fisher could do little about and laid the foundation for victory which came with a conceded three at the short 14th.
So, after five runner-up finishes including the Brabazon Trophy and the South of England Stroke Play Championship, McGowan had finally landed the prize and is the third Surrey golfer to win the English title in the past seven years.
Final scores plus news and photos can be found on the Championships section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org
WIN ENGLISH TITLE AT B AND B
Ross McGowan is the new English men's amateur champion. After five near misses this year the Surrey golfer finally landed the big one when he beat Oliver Fisher 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final at Burnham and Berrow.
McGowan, 24 , must have wondered if he would ever be crowned a champion but he came good in magnificent fashion being seven under par when the match concluded on the 32nd hole.
There was little to choose between the two over the opening round before McGowan finally went into lunch one-up. In perfect conditions, Fisher edged in front at the third but the 17 year old three-putted the short fifth to lose his advantage. The pair stayed level until the tenth where Fisher edged ahead again and the Essex lad seemed to be in the ascendancy but he found trouble on the long 13th, which McGowan birdie to square the contest again.
Although Fisher took the lead for the third time at the 440-yard 15th with a birdie, he lost both the 16th and 17th which allowed McGowan to edge in front for the first time, a lead he kept going into the second round.
Fisher continued to played a brave game in the end but he had to give way to McGowan’s superior play in the afternoon.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said McGowan. “I can’t really believe it has happened. After so many near misses I felt something was going to go wrong somewhere. But I knew if I stayed patient something would happen and it paid off. I only made one bogey all day and managed to birdie all the par fives.”
Fisher was naturally disappointed. “I’m gutted but I hit a lot of good shots but I probably didn’t hole enough putts,” he said. “Ross played well all day. He holed out well this morning to stay in it.”
After lunch McGowan took a decisive grip by winning four holes in six from the third. It was a burst that Fisher could do little about and laid the foundation for victory which came with a conceded three at the short 14th.
So, after five runner-up finishes including the Brabazon Trophy and the South of England Stroke Play Championship, McGowan had finally landed the prize and is the third Surrey golfer to win the English title in the past seven years.
Final scores plus news and photos can be found on the Championships section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, August 05, 2006
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