Svensson v De Lange in British Boys' 
Championship Final at Royal Birkdale

NEWS RELEASE FROM R and A

Sweden’s Marcus Svensson will meet Keegan De Lange of South Africa  in the 36-hole Final of the 89th Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale GC on Sunday.

Svensson, from Halmstad Golf Club, will be looking to secure a Swedish double on Sunday and defend the title that Oskar Bergqvist won last year at Prestwick. The 17-year-old sent Italy’s Guido Migliozzi home with a 5 and 4 victory in the morning’s Quarter Final to earn a match against England boys international Marco Penge, from Golf at Goodwood, for a place in the Final.

The pair, who are close friends, battled back and forth throughout their Semi Final match with Penge taking the early advantage with a birdie on the 3rd hole. 

After conceding the 6th, Svensson birdied the 7th before the match drew level at the turn while another birdie from the Swede on the 12th put him in front for the first time.

Both players dropped shots down the stretch before Penge, the Scottish Open Stroke Play Champion, rolled in his birdie putt on the 17th to square the match. With a large gallery of spectators gathered on the 18th Svensson answered back, sinking his 15-foot birdie putt to secure his place in the Final.

De Lange, who won the Free State Open in South Africa in February, is also set to play in the biggest match of his golfing career tomorrow. The Pretoria Country Club member was never behind in his morning Quarter Final as he defeated England’s Billy Spooner at the 19th hole.

He continued his steady play through the afternoon, taking the lead from the outset against Spain’s Borja Martin Torre in their Semi Final when the Spaniard opened with two bogeys. After halving the 3rd with pars, Martin Torre birdied the 4th to cut the deficit to one hole before De Lange found his stride with a brilliant approach to six feet for a birdie three on the 5th hole.

Despite birdies from Martin Torre on the 9th and 14th holes the Spaniard was unable to catch De Lange and the match ended on the 16th hole with De Lange sealing a 3&2 victory.

As the highest-placed under-17 player in the Championship, Martin Torre was awarded the Peter Garner Bowl, a trophy which counts Sergio Garcia and Sandy Lyle amongst its former winners.

In the other Quarter Final matches earlier in the day Martin Torre had a smooth path to the Semi Final after beating England’s Jordan Sundborg with a resounding 7 and 5 victory while Penge defeated fellow Englishman Nathan Fell on the first extra hole.

Key Quotes:

Marcus Svensson

“I really can’t believe it, I’m just so happy right now.  I’m feeling really good and hopefully I can play the same golf I did today and I hope to win.

“Making the last putt, I wanted Marco to win as well. It’s such a small difference between winning and losing. He’s a great player and played good all round.

Keegan De Lange

“I managed to keep the lead the whole time but it was a tight fought game, there were no soft holes. Borja played really well and it was a great Semi Final.

“I’m feeling fantastic and I am extremely excited for the final tomorrow. I’m looking forward to a good game.”

Marco Penge

“Marcus is one of my best friends and he is a great player so it was always going to be a good game and a tough one to win. I’m mostly proud of him but also disappointed in myself. It’s been a good week and a really good year overall.”

Borja Martin Torre

“I’m very happy with this week. I wasn’t playing well but I tried very hard. When I arrived and saw Birkdale for the first time it was incredible and I am happy that I was able to play this course.”

The 36-hole final between Svensson and De Lange will begin at 8:30am on Sunday with the second 18 holes to be played at approximately 1:00pm.  Admission and parking is free for spectators at Royal Birkdale.

For updates and scoring please visit Championships.Randa.org.