Home advantage counted during the opening round asBen Loveardfired an excellent four-under-par68to take the first-round lead. Fellow Woburn membersEdward Stephenson&John Kempand Sand Martins’Oliver Martinsat one shot back heading into the second round. Just two shots off the pace wasThomas Kirchner(Beaconsfield), who’s composed70left him well placed. A group of three players on71 (-1), withFreddie Wheeler(Tadmarton Heath), another Woburn representativeJustin Rhodes, andTommy Evans(Beaconsfield) all remained firmly in contention.
As the weather warmed up in the afternoon, so did scoring.Ashley Watkinsfollowed a morning round of +5 with a fantastic 6 under par 66. Sub par rounds byLee Moore,Olly Hunt, Richard Craven, Dan Butteriss, Jacob Dines and Charlie Robbwere enough to ensure they made the cut.
Thomas Jamesmoved up into 4th place with another fine 66 andBen McFaddenmade 9 birdies when posting his 66 to move above Thomas and take up joint second place at 5 under par after bothOliver MartinandBen Loveardfollowed sub par morning rounds with red figures in the afternoon. Oliver rests on top of the Leaderboard at 6 under par, but he will know that he has a host of players close on his tail.
Congratulations to Thomas who takes home the Penfold Trophy for the best nett score after day 1.
Ben Loveardtook centre stage in the third round as he remains the only player to break par in every round. Ben sat on -6 heading into the afternoon.Ben McFaddensat just 2 shots back on -4.Thomascontinues to impress as the U16 squad member moves inside the top 3.Oliunfortunately couldn’t convert any of the great approach shots he hit as he dropped to -2 after 54 holes.
Birdies were on the card in the afternoon asThomascharged up the leaderboard with 5 birdies alongside a double in his first 7 holes. MeanwhileBen Mtook control of the championship after firing 4 birdies to reach -8.Ben Lhad a calmer approach with 1 birdie and 1 bogey. An unfortunate double on 8 forBen Mleft,Thomasand bothBen’son -6 after 8 holes. As they passed the turn,Thomasdropped a shot on the drivable par 4 12th as bothBen’sgained ground with a birdie. Only 1 shot separated the 3 players with 6 holes to go. A couple of late dropped shots leftThomason -3 (level for the afternoon round). The putts started to drop forBen Lon the back nine as he moved ahead of the pack. After a -3 back nine,Ben Ltook a 3 shot lead heading down the final hole on -8. Once he hit a good drive, he was able to enjoy the walk and take in the moment.
After losing out in a play-off last year,Ben Lused his home advantage as the only player to finish with all 4 rounds in the red. Congratulations Ben, a well deserved winner!
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