Hayling Island golfer Toby Burden crowned Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Champion

Hayling’s Toby Burden is the new Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Champion after beating Blackmoor’s Colin Roope 6&5 in the final at Army GC.
Hayling's Toby Burden earned the county title. Picture: Andrew GriffinHayling's Toby Burden earned the county title. Picture: Andrew Griffin
Hayling's Toby Burden earned the county title. Picture: Andrew Griffin

Burden marked the 125th anniversary of the county’s first amateur championship by winning the Sloane Stanley Challenge Cup at the Aldershot golf club, writes Andrew Griffin.

In the semi-finals Burden beat Blackmoor’s Ben Lobacz while Roope saw off Hampshire Colts player Tom Vaughan, from Bishopswood.

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The success means Burden became the ninth Hayling player to win the title and takes the club total number of county championship wins to 15 – six behind Southampton’s Stoneham, the most successful club over the past 125 years.

Owen Grimes, Stoneham’s defending champion, was knocked out in the first round by Lee-on-the-Solent’s Aman Uddin, who is heading to Utah in September after leaving Itchen College for a four-year golf scholarship at Dixie University, not far from the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Uddin, the only junior to make it into the weekend’s matchplay from Friday’s 36-hole qualifier, lost to Vaughan in the quarter-finals on the last hole.

Shanklin and Sandown’s Conor Richard, who helped Miami’s Barry University reach the NCAA Finals in the States last month, took the Pechell Salver for the best score in qualifying after two 69s to head the leaderboad on four-under.

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But ex-Southampton footballer Paul Telfer, who plays off one at Hockley, caused the shock of the championship by beating Richards 3&1 in the first round, only to lose 4&2 to Burden in the quarter-finals.

Roope’s route to the final saw him beat Barton-on-Sea’s Finbar Kane 7&6 before he ended Shanklin and Sandown’s Jordan Sundborg’s hopes of regaining the Sloane Stanley Cup he won in 2017 at Royal Jersey.

Roope, whose season has been hampered by the shoulder injury he picked up at the Selborne Salver at his Blackmoor club in April, was grateful to finish his semi-final on the 13th to conseve energy.

But the quality of Burden’s golf in the final left Roope with no complaints as the Hayling man fired off four birdies, including a tap in at the 366-yard 10th after his approach missed the hole for an eagle by inches.

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