Tom Lewis beats Eddie Pepperell in all-England

final to Boys' amateur championship

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Tom Lewis is the Champion Amateur Boy Golfer of the Year, defeating Eddie Pepperell 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final today. The young English internationals competed over the links of Royal St George’s in glorious weather, producing an incredible standard of golf which delighted spectators. It was Lewis, however, who prevailed and became a worthy winner of the 81st Boys Amateur Championship.
The English Amateur Stroke Play champion now adds his name to a list of names which includes two-time Masters winner, Jose Maria Olazabal, and Sergio Garcia; a fact that the 18-year-old England International struggled to take in.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s hard to explain. You don’t expect to be in the same boat as those players, but then you are,” explained the young man from Welwyn Garden City Golf Club, the same club where Sir Nick Faldo began his illustrious career.
“To continue being alongside those names is a tough goal but if I keep doing what I’m doing, which seems to be working, then hopefully I can continue being up there with them.”
Having won the second hole in birdie, Lewis controlled the match as he has done in the majority of his matches this week, maintaining at least a two-hole cushion on all but one hole, which was followed by galleries of over 200 people.
“I was only down once last week. Once I’ve been up, I haven’t lost it so it was good to win the second and be up for the rest of the holes I played.”
“I was just a little bit more solid and probably kept it together a little better. He played better than the score made it look but I made the right decisions, didn’t short-side myself and made some putts when I needed to.”
Pepperell concurred with that assessment. Visibly deflated, the Drayton Park member knew that he had not played to his full potential despite showing his undoubted talent on a number of occasions.
“I didn’t feel nervous out there. I felt really good; the same as I have done all week. But for whatever reason I wasn’t playing well enough today,” the 18-year-old said.
“I scrambled well this morning, hanging on to him, but I felt like I didn’t give him a game. I’m disappointed as it was unlike me.”
“There are lots of positives, though, which I’ll probably be able to reflect on a bit better in a few days time. But, overall, I loved it. It was great to have so much support.”
“I think he gave me a game more than he thought,” interrupted Lewis, a close friend as well as a team-mate of Pepperell’s. “Eddie’s the best grinder I’ve ever come across and he put a lot of pressure on me because he has such a good short game.”
Lewis will soon head to Ganton for the Jacques Leglise Trophy match where he will compete for Great Britain and Ireland against the Continent of Europe on 28 – 29 August.
The 2010 Boys Amateur Championship will be held at Kilmarnock (Barassie) on the west coast of Scotland in August next year.
A full, detailed hole-by-hole report can be found online at RandA.org along will full results from the week.