Luke Goddard beats Farren Keenan in

36-hole English amateur final

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Luke Goddard is the new English men's amateur champion. He beat Farren Keenan 3 and 2 in the 36 hole final as the sunshine turned to rain at Rye.
In effect, Goddard had to win the title twice. He had been four up after seven holes in the morning round only for Keenan to bravely battle back to go into lunch all square. There was little to separate them for eight holes of the afternoon round. But a run of three birdies in four holes from the ninth, plus a Keenan lost ball, tilted the balance Goddard’s way.
“I’m thrilled to be champion,” said Goddard. “This was a tough match. I played solid and Farren was holing putts from everywhere. The holes around the turn won it for me. Three birdies in four holes was the key and when the rain came it was a bit of a struggle.
“Hopefully this will put me in the Walker Cup team. It would mean everything to me. It is the highest accolade in amateur golf and it is great to have that on your CV when you turn professional. I’ve had a win every year but not one this year until now but this is the big one.” Keenan played his part in a fine final but was naturally disappointed. “I’m gutted really but Luke played nicely all day,” he said. “He got hot around the turn and I couldn’t really put any pressure on him. I was pleased with my comeback this morning but I lost a few shots this afternoon when I couldn’t quite hold the ball up into the wind.
“You want to be in the final, and this will probably be my last one, but I came up against a tough guy who has probably cemented his place in the Walker Cup team.”
Goddard had played solid golf all week but it was somewhat out of character when he saw a four hole lead taken away over the final 11 holes of the morning round. Keenan was back in the match and when he birdied the first hole of the afternoon a turnaround seemed on the cards. Goddard soon got back on terms and while Goddard got back in front with a birdie 2 at the fifth, Keenan squared matters again with a birdie of his own at the par four eighth. Then came the decisive run.
Both missed the green at the ninth but Goddard got up-and-down for birdie to lead again and when Keenan lost a ball off the 10th tee to run up a double bogey, Goddard was two ahead. Further birdies at the 11th and 12th meant Goddard could see the winning post at 4up with six to play. But Keenan stuck to his guns and he won the 15th with a par to stay alive. But the end came with a half in bogey 5s at the 16th as the rain grew in intensity.
Scores for all matches, championship commentary and news updates are available on the Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.