Sawford late show steals victory
MARK SAWFORD holed a 20ft eagle putt in dramatic style to retain the Royal Winchester Junior Open.
The Rowlands Castle player, 18, continued his fine start to the season with rounds of four-under par 68 – which tied the course record – and 70.
The win means Sawford has secured his place at the Carris Trophy and the British Boys Championships later this summer.
And he admits his putt on the final green to win by one will live long
in the memory.
He said: 'That was pretty special. I wasn't really driving that well all day and I pulled it left.
'I hit a three iron out of the rough and then holed a 20ft putt.
'That was really surprising because I'd holed nothing in the second round.
'I knew the guy leading was doing pretty well because he's a steady player – I knew I had to at least get a birdie. I'm putting better than
I ever have so I've got a lot of confidence which helps.'
Having had his mum polish the trophy vigorously the night before, little did the Sawford household know it would be returning home once again.
The Chichester College student is now playing off scratch as a result of his win.
And he's looking forward to making further strides over the course of the summer.
He said: 'There's always the expectation to get it (the trophy) back but you never really think you're going to win it.
'To get into the Carris and British Boys is great because it's the best in England and Europe.
'The aim is to now get down to plus-one handicap so I can get into all the men's events, and it will also be good to get some world-ranking points.
'To get a top 10 in the Carris would be good and to do better than I did in the British Boys last year, the top 32, would be good, although that will be tough.
'It's good to get an early win at the start of the season.'
This year's Junior Open win was the first time Sawford had travelled to an event without the support of his parents – and it's something which clearly suited him.
He said: 'It was quite weird actually. Usually your parents get you up and they tell you when your tee time is, but this time I had to do it myself!'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
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