John Kemp (Woburn) made it back-to-back English Senior Men’s Amateur Stroke Play titles after an exhilarating three-way play-off on the Hotchkin Course at The National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa.
Kemp, Stephen Jensen (Trevose) and Scotland’s Kenneth Gallacher all finished on -1 overall to go to a play-off, and despite Kemp missing a three-footer to win with birdie on the 1st, he rolled his 40-foot eagle putt up to mere inches to seal victory on the 2nd play-off hole (18).
He said: “It was a bit of an ordeal with the play-off but I'm chuffed to bits. I've won the Champion of Champions and the Midland Amateur here, so I love this golf course. Without doubt though the Bracken Course was the toughest this week, and you could see that with the scores, it's very tricky!
"I thought I'd blown it with the missed putt on the 1st play-off hole, it was a bad miss from just three feet. I went out of my process, which I didn't do on the 18th to get into the play-off with that up-and-down out of the bunker (pictured below)! I was lucky off the tee on the 2nd play-off hole, as I pulled it and it came up short of the bunker, whereas the others went in, but I managed to knock it on the green and two-putt which was lovely!"
Addington Palace’s Simon Crockett was the leader heading into the final day, and was going brilliantly until his first dropped shot on 13 after a wayward approach, before bogeys on 15 and 16. Former R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers (Worplesdon) was just a shot back heading into the last round but slipped out of contention on the front-nine, while last year’s winner Kemp (Woburn) bounced back from two early bogeys with birdies on 6, 9, 12 and 14 to propel himself back into contention.
Meanwhile in the group in front, Gallacher (East Kilbride) and last year’s English Amateur Championship winner Jensen were hot on their heels, and things got tense in the final few holes. Both Crockett and Kemp hit the par-5 14th in two, where Crockett three-putted, as Kemp birdied to reduce the gap to one, and Gallacher up ahead birdied the 15th with Jensen birdieing 16.
Jensen and Gallacher then ramped up the pressure with birdies on 18, although Jensen came inches from holing his eagle putt. Kemp found the bunkers twice on the 18th but made a great sand-save, while Crockett couldn’t get up-and-down from the bunker for a birdie to make it a four-man play-off.
Elsewhere in the field, Danny Holmes (Rochester & Cobham Park) had the round of the day with a bogey-free 69 (-4) to finish inside the top-10. Check out the final leaderboard here.
Jensen’s brilliant final-round 70 (-3) and Gallacher and Kemp’s 72s (-1) saw the trio head down the 1st play-off hole, with Gallacher’s approach going long-right and Jensen and Kemp giving themselves great chances at birdie. The Scot made a great up-and-down while Jensen’s 10-footer slid by, and with the crowd expecting Kemp to knock it in, he missed a three-footer.
They went down the 18th for the 2nd play-off hole where Gallacher and Jensen found sand off the tee, allowing Kemp to hit a fairway-wood into the green for a simple birdie, making it back-to-back titles before paying tribute to the late England Golf Senior Men's Squad star Trevor Foster in his trophy acceptance speech.
Kemp, who heads to Turkey on Sunday for the European Senior Amateur Championship added: "I'll have a few Efes beers over there and have a nice chilled time with my wife - she picked that one because it's 40 degrees and all-inclusive!"
The 2026 English Senior Men’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship takes place at The Ipswich Golf Club and Woodbridge Golf Club.
He said: “It was a bit of an ordeal with the play-off but I'm chuffed to bits. I've won the Champion of Champions and the Midland Amateur here, so I love this golf course. Without doubt though the Bracken Course was the toughest this week, and you could see that with the scores, it's very tricky!
"I thought I'd blown it with the missed putt on the 1st play-off hole, it was a bad miss from just three feet. I went out of my process, which I didn't do on the 18th to get into the play-off with that up-and-down out of the bunker (pictured below)! I was lucky off the tee on the 2nd play-off hole, as I pulled it and it came up short of the bunker, whereas the others went in, but I managed to knock it on the green and two-putt which was lovely!"
Addington Palace’s Simon Crockett was the leader heading into the final day, and was going brilliantly until his first dropped shot on 13 after a wayward approach, before bogeys on 15 and 16. Former R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers (Worplesdon) was just a shot back heading into the last round but slipped out of contention on the front-nine, while last year’s winner Kemp (Woburn) bounced back from two early bogeys with birdies on 6, 9, 12 and 14 to propel himself back into contention.
Meanwhile in the group in front, Gallacher (East Kilbride) and last year’s English Amateur Championship winner Jensen were hot on their heels, and things got tense in the final few holes. Both Crockett and Kemp hit the par-5 14th in two, where Crockett three-putted, as Kemp birdied to reduce the gap to one, and Gallacher up ahead birdied the 15th with Jensen birdieing 16.
Jensen and Gallacher then ramped up the pressure with birdies on 18, although Jensen came inches from holing his eagle putt. Kemp found the bunkers twice on the 18th but made a great sand-save, while Crockett couldn’t get up-and-down from the bunker for a birdie to make it a four-man play-off.
Elsewhere in the field, Danny Holmes (Rochester & Cobham Park) had the round of the day with a bogey-free 69 (-4) to finish inside the top-10. Check out the final leaderboard here.
Jensen’s brilliant final-round 70 (-3) and Gallacher and Kemp’s 72s (-1) saw the trio head down the 1st play-off hole, with Gallacher’s approach going long-right and Jensen and Kemp giving themselves great chances at birdie. The Scot made a great up-and-down while Jensen’s 10-footer slid by, and with the crowd expecting Kemp to knock it in, he missed a three-footer.
They went down the 18th for the 2nd play-off hole where Gallacher and Jensen found sand off the tee, allowing Kemp to hit a fairway-wood into the green for a simple birdie, making it back-to-back titles before paying tribute to the late England Golf Senior Men's Squad star Trevor Foster in his trophy acceptance speech.
Kemp, who heads to Turkey on Sunday for the European Senior Amateur Championship added: "I'll have a few Efes beers over there and have a nice chilled time with my wife - she picked that one because it's 40 degrees and all-inclusive!"
The 2026 English Senior Men’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship takes place at The Ipswich Golf Club and Woodbridge Golf Club.
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