Bramshaw Golf Club’s Alex Talbot has been crowned Hampshire Junior Champion, taking the title away from defending champion and Islander Conor Richards.
Talbot’s two-under par round of 69 left the teenager 2 clear of defending champion Conor Richards from Shanklin and Sandown, as the 17-year-old Hampshire Boys player was denied the chance to become the first player to defend the title successfully since Brokenhurst Manor’s Martin Le Mesurier in 1993, at Corhampton.
17-year-old Alex, playing off a one-handicap, started from the 10th tee and despite dropping a shot at the par three 13th hole, got his round back on track immediately, bouncing back with a birdie four at the 602-yard 14th, the longest hole on the course.
Richards, who finished second last year in the British Schools and Colleges Championship at St Andrews, made a very solid start from the 10th, also picking up a shot at the short 13th before reaching the turn without dropping a shot.
Talbot, unaware of how crucial his back nine would turn out to be, stormed to the top of the leaderboard by birdieing the second and third holes – the latter a shorter par five at 533 yards – to move to two-under. And the news for his main rival was not so good. Playing in the group ahead of Talbot, Richards suffered a double set back with a dropped shot at the par three fifth and compounded the error with a bogey five at the sixth.
Richards, who was a member of the Colts team that shared the trophy when Hampshire tied with Essex in the South East League Final at Rowlands Castle in October, took advantage of the short par four seventh to make a birdie three which left him level at lunch.
Even a bogey five at the 346-yard eighth did not dent Talbot’s confidence and he showed how much in control he was of his iron play with a second two of the day at the 172-yard ninth.
The rain had been incessant enough throughout the day to the point that the course could no longer cope with the prevailing conditions on top of a very wet winter, leaving the tournament committee with no alternative but to call the 63 players in to the clubhouse and abandon play for the day.
Richards took second place on countback, but the three handicapper’s nett 68 left him on top of the handicap leaderboard.
Report by Andrew Griffin
