A final round of 66 (-6) helped Enville's Ben Bolton win the Spanish Boys' Amateur Championship at Pula Golf Resort, Mallorca.
The 17-year-old shot rounds of 71, 73 and 72 on the first three days before his bogey-free final day helped him edge France's Luka Mourin by a shot in Spain.
Bolton said: "It was unreal, that back-nine was really clutch. It felt amazing coming off the course. I was four shots back heading into the day so I didn’t think I had a chance. I did think -6 or -7 would win. I just went out and stuck in there.
“Being 1-under through 9, I thought it’s going to have to be unbelievable now, so somehow I managed to pull it off and I’m really happy. It was an average front-nine but the eagle on 12 helped with a six-footer and then after that I was really confident, hitting irons well, and then holed some really good putts like a 50-footer on 16, followed by a good bunker shot on 17.
“On 18 I was just thinking don’t go in the bunker and I ended up straight in the middle of one! It was plugged but I saw my playing partner’s ball roll down the hill and I thought it could be doable, and hit it exactly where I wanted. It came down to a four-footer downhill – it was a nervy one but I holed it which was great.
“I’m just looking forward to getting home and spending time with the family. I’ll be back to practising tomorrow and getting back on it ahead of a tournament in Northern Ireland coming up, so I’m excited for that.”
Fellow England players also shone in Spain with Oscar Lent (Walton Heath, Surrey) just four back of Bolton in tied-6th with -2, and Harry Cox (Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) tied-10th on -1.
Cameron Mukherjee finished 15th after shooting level-par through the few days, while Sebastian Desoisa (Gibraltar, tied-21st), Josh Stephens (Moortown, Yorkshire, 25th), Jack Swift (North Foreland, Kent, tied-26th) and Sam Marshall (St Neots, Cambridgeshire, tied-26th) also impressed in Europe.
England Men's Deputy Performance Director Stephen Burnett added: "I'm really pleased with the whole group, they’ve all acquitted themselves really well - not just the standard of golf, they’ve been a great bunch to work with all week. The extra practice round helped, in some interesting conditions - being blown away in a storm, and the buzzer going off for thunder and lightning in the second practice. But it gave us a good enough look at the course.
"We thought the scoring would get to double figures when we started and then day two and three were windy. It was raining on the last day in the morning but there was no wind and Ben demonstrated what was possible and that was the round of the week."
Bolton said: "It was unreal, that back-nine was really clutch. It felt amazing coming off the course. I was four shots back heading into the day so I didn’t think I had a chance. I did think -6 or -7 would win. I just went out and stuck in there.
“Being 1-under through 9, I thought it’s going to have to be unbelievable now, so somehow I managed to pull it off and I’m really happy. It was an average front-nine but the eagle on 12 helped with a six-footer and then after that I was really confident, hitting irons well, and then holed some really good putts like a 50-footer on 16, followed by a good bunker shot on 17.
“On 18 I was just thinking don’t go in the bunker and I ended up straight in the middle of one! It was plugged but I saw my playing partner’s ball roll down the hill and I thought it could be doable, and hit it exactly where I wanted. It came down to a four-footer downhill – it was a nervy one but I holed it which was great.
“I’m just looking forward to getting home and spending time with the family. I’ll be back to practising tomorrow and getting back on it ahead of a tournament in Northern Ireland coming up, so I’m excited for that.”
Fellow England players also shone in Spain with Oscar Lent (Walton Heath, Surrey) just four back of Bolton in tied-6th with -2, and Harry Cox (Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) tied-10th on -1.
Cameron Mukherjee finished 15th after shooting level-par through the few days, while Sebastian Desoisa (Gibraltar, tied-21st), Josh Stephens (Moortown, Yorkshire, 25th), Jack Swift (North Foreland, Kent, tied-26th) and Sam Marshall (St Neots, Cambridgeshire, tied-26th) also impressed in Europe.
England Men's Deputy Performance Director Stephen Burnett added: "I'm really pleased with the whole group, they’ve all acquitted themselves really well - not just the standard of golf, they’ve been a great bunch to work with all week. The extra practice round helped, in some interesting conditions - being blown away in a storm, and the buzzer going off for thunder and lightning in the second practice. But it gave us a good enough look at the course.
"We thought the scoring would get to double figures when we started and then day two and three were windy. It was raining on the last day in the morning but there was no wind and Ben demonstrated what was possible and that was the round of the week."
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org