Longcake takes the biscuit with seven-shot

victory in English mid-amateur event

FROM THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
John Longcake gave a masterclass in how to play golf in the wind to retain the English mid- amateur championship and the Logan Trophy over his home course at Silloth-on-Solway today.
While everyone else saw their chances blown away in conditions described by Silloth secretary John Hill as ‘a steady Silloth breeze’, Longcake was in full control.
A closing 70 for 209, seven under par, gave him a seven-stroke winning margin over Cheshire’s James Murphy, who returned 72, with another Cumbrian, Neville Johnstone, and Graham Forrest from Northumberland on 219 after rounds of 73 and 77 respectively.
A measure of Longcake’s supremacy was that he was the only man to beat par on the day and the only man to finish under par for the championship.
It also gave him his third mid-amateur title, only the fourth player to achieve the milestone alongside Alan Mew, Charlie Banks and Stephen East, the reigning European mid-amateur champion, who finished equal fifth.
“This win means a lot to me because all my family were here watching while it was over my home course,” said Longcake.
“When you are on your own course there is extra pressure because everyone expects a lot from you. But I don’t mind this wind. It’s the conditions we are used to here at Silloth so you just have to hit fairways and greens and roll your putts up stone dead.”
When he awoke and saw the rain and wind over the course, Longcake must have a wry smile. Starting the day three ahead, he was out in 37 to drop back to three under par, but if his rivals thought there might be a chink in his armour then they were in for a shock.
Birdies at the 11th and 14th cancelled those errors but he confirmed his title with an eagle-three at the long 17th where he holed from 60 feet.
“That was the first long putt I’ve holed all week,” Longcake added. “It was a good back nine of four under 33 which meant the others had to chase me.”
Murphy’s runner-up spot followed a third place in last year’s event, while Johnstone from nearby Carlisle birdied the last two holes, including a chip-in at the last, for his 73.
But the crowning glory for Longcake was that his victory was witnessed by his 82-year-old father Bill, ten times Silloth club champion and five times Cumbrian champion.
“He suffered a stroke two years ago and I lost my mother last year so it’s been tough for him. So it was nice to have him watch me,” Longcake added before collecting the trophy.