Despite not having the best summer golf-wise, I felt confident going into the weekend. However, I knew that the competition would be tough with some great players from other universities.
I’ve been playing golf competitively for 12 years and this was the first time I’d played a competition of this magnitude. The night before, we walked the course and it made me feel moreÌýcomfortable going into the tournament.Ìý
Competition day arrived and I got off to a great start, making a birdie on the first hole. This really helped to settle my nerves and boosted myÌýconfidence for the rest of the round. In the end, I shot 73 (+1) in some tough conditions (and on a very difficult golf course) which put me in 4th place. I hadÌýtwo more rounds to go and there were two other ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ players in the top 15 (Joe Hack and Ross Murgatroyd at +5) so everything wasÌýlooking promising.
In the back of my mind, I did wonder if the third (and final) round might be cancelledÌýdue to the storm that was forecast on Monday night. However, I didn't let this get to me and played oneÌýshot at a time.Ìý
I started my first round with twoÌýbogeys which put me +3 for the tournament and +2 on the day. At this point, I thought I might miss the cut.ÌýI got my game backÌýunder control withÌýa birdie on the next hole and played the front 9 in -2. The highlight of my game came whenÌýI played an eagle on the sixthÌýhole. The back nineÌýholes proved to beÌýa different kettle of fish though!ÌýI made twoÌýbogies on the 13th and 16th holesÌýwhichÌýput me at level par for the day and +1 for the tournament, with twoÌýholes left to play.
I then went on to hit a terrible chip on the 17th hole which resulted in a par on the easy par 5. I did, however, hit my approach shot on the challenging 18th hole short right which left me about 25 yards to go. I picked where I wanted to land it and luckily enough it went in!ÌýI ended up shooting a 71(-1) for the day and level par for the tournament which I was pleased with. Despite my start to the round, I was now one pointÌýahead of my nearest competitor and at the top of the leaderboard.
The final day of the tournament arrived. The weather was terrible and I was secretly hopingÌýthat the day would be cancelled. I managed to keep aÌýpositive mindset though and knew that if I was going to win, it would be a battle. As IÌýwas going through my practice routine, torrential rain started to fall and 20 minutesÌýbefore I was about to tee off, play was suspended due to flooding. The organisers and the referees decided to cancel the day which meant that the tournament was a two-day rather than a three-day event. I had won and was crowned champion!
My winning shot was a chip in on the last hole for birdie in front of all my teammatesÌýand the clubhouse which made the win that extra bit special. Being crowned champion of the ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥CS Midlands Championship is my biggest golfing achievement so far. It also gave me a World Amateur Golf RankingÌý– something I’d waited a long time for.
Overall, it was a great tournament with threeÌýÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ golf players being placed in the top 15.
October 2019