Low scoring spree prompts upsets at the

 

English amateur championship

Eagles and birdies were flying on an afternoon of upsets in the English men’s amateur championship at Formby, which saw top seed Sam Rook and international Jake Burnage knocked out.

Burnage (Saunton) chipped in for eagle on the 17^th to go all square in his match. But his opponent, Oliver Farrell (Evesham) birdied the 18^th to win the close-fought game by one hole  and take his place in the quarter-finals.

“Jake’s chip-in helped me a little bit,” said Farrell (pictured). “I told myself to respond in a good way and hit a great drive down the middle on 18. I had 99 yards left, which was perfect, I hit a 90-yard shot and let it release down to the pin to about 4ft away.”

Burnage’s approach was almost as good, finishing 6ft away, but his birdie attempt lipped out.

Farrell, 21, is a student at Marquette University in Wisconsin and is playing in the match-play stages of this championship for the first time. 

Tomorrow he will meet Callum Farr (Northamptonshire County) who knocked out the top seed Sam Rook (Lindrick) 3 and 2.

Farr was slow starting but once he got going, he was on fire. He lost the first to a birdie then, by his own account, made a mess of the second. After that he played the next 14 holes in six-under par, with birdies on 3, 4, 6, 8, 11 and 13.

Farr, who celebrates his 20^th birthday next week, is also playing in the match play stages for the first time and remarked: “It’s nice to beat the top seed, it shows you can beat anyone.”

Brabazon Trophy winner Nick Poppleton joins them in the quarter finals, after defeating Jack Ainscough (Hartlepool) 3/2.

Poppleton had a marathon match this morning, going to the 23^rd hole to beat Matthew Nuttall (Royal Birkdale.) But the long game brought the added bonus of a fresh swing thought: “I found something in the play-off holes and started to hit some better shots.

“I played lovely in the stroke play but I haven’t been swinging it as great in the match play or putting as great. But this afternoon I played nicely and played some lovely wedge shots”

He took an early lead, winning the first three holes when Ainscough found sand off each of the tees, and he had his chances to get to four under. But, instead it was Ainscough who made a move, getting back to 2 down after 15, only for Poppleton to convert a lovely nine-iron approach on 16 into a winning birdie.

Tomorrow Poppleton takes on Joe Long (Lansdown), who came through another marathon game. He finally beat Alex Dixon (City of Newcastle) on the 20^th.

Tom Thurloway (Chartham Park) moved confidently into the quarters with a 4 and 3 win over Hexham’s Matty Lamb. His opponent will be Angus Flanagan (St George’s Hill) who knocked out boy international Robin Williams (Peterborough Milton). Flanagan finished with a run of birdies: on the 15th to get to one up; on the 17th to halve the hole; and on the 18th to win by two holes.

The final quarter -final will be between Jamie Li (Bath) and Alex Ireland (Brickhampton Court). Li was a 19th hole winner over England squad player Tom Sloman (Taunton and Pickeridge). Ireland meanwhile, won the 14th, 15th and 16th with a par, birdie, par sequence to defeat Rhys Lawrence (Coventry) 3 and 2.

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Image copyright Leaderboard Photography