England Golf Boys’ Squad member George Whitehead won an enthralling McEvoy Trophy at Copt Heath Golf Club by a single shot on Thursday.
In a back-and-forth final day, Whitehead made a sublime eagle on 15 before a remarkable up-and-down for par on 16, and a 20-foot putt on 18 sealed a birdie to win it ahead of Thomas Hartshorne (Teesside), George Cooper (Doncaster) and Alex Boyes (Teesside) by just a shot.
The event, which sees 72 holes played across two days, had five England Boys’ Squad players competing, with all five in the top seven of the 78-player leaderboard. Hartshorne and Aaron Moody (Burhill) shared the early lead after round 1 which included an eagle and seven birdies in a score of 65 (-6) for Hartshorne, and an eagle and six birdies for Moody. Whitehead and Boyes were just one shot back but Boyes backed up his 66 with 68 on Wednesday afternoon to lead after day one by five shots, ahead of Moody.
Thursday morning saw Cooper impress with a bogey-free 67 (-4) and Hartshorne 69 (-2). They were the only two in the field to break 70 heading into an afternoon all to play for.
Just two shots separated the top five in the end, as the 200-plus spectators were treated to some fantastic golf in Warwickshire – but two eagles and three birdies from Whitehead in the final round were enough to see him edge his England Golf teammates.
After winning, Whitehead said: “It’s a privilege to win – there are so many great players who have played this event like Marco Penge. I didn’t expect to win coming into this week so it’s very special.
“It was a really solid couple of days from tee to green and putting. I made three eagles which I was surprised at, I’m so happy with how everything went.
“The eagle on 15 in the final round – a 15-footer left-to-right up the hill – that gave me some momentum. When I was on 18, I knew I needed birdie to win or force a play-off and it was a good 20-footer for the win.
“I’m happy that all the England team did well. To beat all of them was good, and with all the crowd too. I’ve never really had that before, it was quite special and I felt like I controlled my nerves so I was happy with that.
“I’ve got Fairhaven Trophy next up in a couple of weeks so I’ll be going into that to try and win."
Elsewhere, Scott Antoun (Wildernesse) shot the round of the tournament with a 63 (-8) in the final round, while another England Golf youngster in Alfie Turner enjoyed a 66 (-5) to finish just three back of the winner.
It was a fantastic event for England Golf’s Performance Pathway, as the top-10 players and 18 of the top 20 were all in the National or Regional Squads. View the final leaderboard here.
The event, which sees 72 holes played across two days, had five England Boys’ Squad players competing, with all five in the top seven of the 78-player leaderboard. Hartshorne and Aaron Moody (Burhill) shared the early lead after round 1 which included an eagle and seven birdies in a score of 65 (-6) for Hartshorne, and an eagle and six birdies for Moody. Whitehead and Boyes were just one shot back but Boyes backed up his 66 with 68 on Wednesday afternoon to lead after day one by five shots, ahead of Moody.
Thursday morning saw Cooper impress with a bogey-free 67 (-4) and Hartshorne 69 (-2). They were the only two in the field to break 70 heading into an afternoon all to play for.
Just two shots separated the top five in the end, as the 200-plus spectators were treated to some fantastic golf in Warwickshire – but two eagles and three birdies from Whitehead in the final round were enough to see him edge his England Golf teammates.
After winning, Whitehead said: “It’s a privilege to win – there are so many great players who have played this event like Marco Penge. I didn’t expect to win coming into this week so it’s very special.
“It was a really solid couple of days from tee to green and putting. I made three eagles which I was surprised at, I’m so happy with how everything went.
“The eagle on 15 in the final round – a 15-footer left-to-right up the hill – that gave me some momentum. When I was on 18, I knew I needed birdie to win or force a play-off and it was a good 20-footer for the win.
“I’m happy that all the England team did well. To beat all of them was good, and with all the crowd too. I’ve never really had that before, it was quite special and I felt like I controlled my nerves so I was happy with that.
“I’ve got Fairhaven Trophy next up in a couple of weeks so I’ll be going into that to try and win."
Elsewhere, Scott Antoun (Wildernesse) shot the round of the tournament with a 63 (-8) in the final round, while another England Golf youngster in Alfie Turner enjoyed a 66 (-5) to finish just three back of the winner.
It was a fantastic event for England Golf’s Performance Pathway, as the top-10 players and 18 of the top 20 were all in the National or Regional Squads. View the final leaderboard here.
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