Shanklin and Sandown Golf Club’s county champion Jordan Sundborg went one better than 12 months ago by claiming the Stoneham Trophy for the first time on Saturday.
Having become the first player from the Island to win the Solent Salver for the best 72-hole aggregate in the Stoneham and Mike Smith Memorial Trophy 12 months ago, having been runner-up in both, he became the first Isle of Wight golfer to land the Stoneham Trophy since its inception back in 1983 thanks to a stunning best of the day 64.
Blackmoor’s Mark Burgess – who burst out of the blocks with a superb 65 – slumped to a 76 after lunch and Sundborg scorched up the leaderboard with a round including 7 birdies and an eagle.
Rowlands Castle’s Billy McKenzie emerged as Sundborg’s main rival having got off to a fast start with 2 birdies in a row. And after a birdie 3 at the short fifth, the left-hander who has just completed 4 successful years on a golf scholarship in the States, then holed a monster from 35ft on the ninth to take the lead for the first time in the tournament.
He extended his lead to 2 with a birdie 4 at the 12th but handed one back with a bogey at the 273-yard 13th having tried to drive the green. He watched his putt horseshoe out for par on the 15th and then made a birdie four up the hill at the last.
Sundborg was playing in the group behind and had managed to tie McKenzie on 8-under with a brace of birdies at the eighth and ninth and the 12th and 13th. But playing the last he was one behind and having hit his approach on the 479-yard par 5 to 15ft, he sank the eagle putt to claim a stunning victory courtesy of his 10-under total.
His morning round saw him card 5 birdies and an eagle in his 2-under par 70, having started ominously with a bogey and double bogey in his first 2 holes. Having started at the 10th, his 3-iron approach to the par 5 13th stopped 10ft from the hole and the ensuing three did much to repair the damage of his poor start.
Even though he then gave one of those shots straight back at the 14th, he then birdied 4 holes out of 5 from the 16th to get to 3-under. A bogey at the eighth saw him reach the lunch interval in a share of fifth place.
The University of Stirling student became the first player from the Isle of Wight to claim the Hampshire Amateur Championship since 1939 when he beat county captain Martin Young in the final at Royal Jersey back in June. And as he prepares to return to Scotland for the new term, the 20-year-old – who will attempt to land the Courage Trophy won by clubmate Ryan Harmer a year ago at Hockley – when the Hampshire strokeplay championship is held at Aldershot’s Army Golf Club in 2 weeks’ time.
Jordan said:
“Obviously winning my first county championship has given me a great deal of confidence. I have been playing well this summer – qualifying for the last 64 at the British Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s in such a strong international field was another stepping stone – unfortunately I played one of in-form Italians in the last 32 and could not do anything about that result when he made so many birdies on a tough course.
“After playing for Stirling against some of the top American colleges in the States, and the Middle East, I have obviously improved – it is nice to get the wins in return for all the hard work.”
Sundborg looked set to repeat his Solent Salver success after travelling from Southampton down to Brokenhurst Manor in the New Forest for the Mike Smith Memorial.
A 2-under par 68 in the morning left him tied in the lead with McKenzie and Shanklin and Sandown’s Nat Riddett.
But the weekend’s exertions caught up with him in the second round as he slumped to a 76 to finish in 10th on 4-over par – 10 shots behind county colts manager Tom Robson, from Rowlands Castle, who pipped McKenzie by a shot, leaving the latter to claim the Solent Salver having been denied it by Sundborg in 2016.
