ABU DHABI JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ben Taylor and Hayley Davis win Daily
Telegraph titles
FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
Taylor, a Walton Heath Golf Club member and a first-year golf scholarship student at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, has touring pro ambitions and he was delighted with his two-shot victory after a rousing tussle with Rhys Pugh, the outstanding Welsh schoolboy from Pontypridd.
This Daily Telegraph-sponsored event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club has a magic of its own.
"I've never had that much fun in competition golf before," said Taylor, a former tennis player at Reed's, Tim Henman's old school in Surrey.
"I played two rounds with Rhys and we got a friendship going that was really nice to see. It's not always the most comfortable environment when you form rivalries with people."
Taylor has a languid muscular swing that looks built for a life on tour.
"Looking back at the sort of scores Tour players shoot here, my 65 on Monday is right up there," he said. "That's quite encouraging to see. Playing courses where the pros play puts you in a good position to know where you'll be in the future. So that was one of the highlights of the week - winning on a European Tour course. Rhys played fantastic all week, so I knew he would be up there." Taylor started the final round two strokes ahead and seemed to falter at the short seventh, where he failed to escape from a greenside bunker and made a double-bogey, but he bounced back immediately with four consecutive birdies and had the title in his sights.
Pugh, 17, already a seasoned Wales international, proved hard to shake off. Unflappable, he holed a 25-footer for a birdie 2 at the 15th, though his attempt to drop three times to avoid a sprinkler head at the 16th betrayed a gap in his knowledge of the laws.
The EGU referee Nigel Evans spared him a two-stroke penalty in nick of time.
Taylor and Pugh both returned 69, and the gap to third placed Jordan Ainley, from Brokenhurst Manor, rose to 12 shots.
Jerome Titlow, from The London Club in Kent, was the only other player to go under par on the final day. His 71 was another excellent effort in a stiff breeze that put a premium on control.
Jack English, a plus-two handicapper from Five Lakes in Essex, returned rounds of 85, 76 and 79. This was very good when bearing in mind he could hardly walk after a serious car crash a month previously. His right knee and right arm were damaged, but he decided this event could not be missed.
Poor Chris Thursby, from Dalmuir, Overton near Glasgow, missed the whole tournament with a chest infection. He played a consolation round on the final day to try out the course, using a buggy.
This Daily Telegraph-sponsored event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club has a magic of its own.
"I've never had that much fun in competition golf before," said Taylor, a former tennis player at Reed's, Tim Henman's old school in Surrey.
"I played two rounds with Rhys and we got a friendship going that was really nice to see. It's not always the most comfortable environment when you form rivalries with people."
Taylor has a languid muscular swing that looks built for a life on tour.
"Looking back at the sort of scores Tour players shoot here, my 65 on Monday is right up there," he said. "That's quite encouraging to see. Playing courses where the pros play puts you in a good position to know where you'll be in the future. So that was one of the highlights of the week - winning on a European Tour course. Rhys played fantastic all week, so I knew he would be up there." Taylor started the final round two strokes ahead and seemed to falter at the short seventh, where he failed to escape from a greenside bunker and made a double-bogey, but he bounced back immediately with four consecutive birdies and had the title in his sights.
Pugh, 17, already a seasoned Wales international, proved hard to shake off. Unflappable, he holed a 25-footer for a birdie 2 at the 15th, though his attempt to drop three times to avoid a sprinkler head at the 16th betrayed a gap in his knowledge of the laws.
The EGU referee Nigel Evans spared him a two-stroke penalty in nick of time.
Taylor and Pugh both returned 69, and the gap to third placed Jordan Ainley, from Brokenhurst Manor, rose to 12 shots.
Jerome Titlow, from The London Club in Kent, was the only other player to go under par on the final day. His 71 was another excellent effort in a stiff breeze that put a premium on control.
Jack English, a plus-two handicapper from Five Lakes in Essex, returned rounds of 85, 76 and 79. This was very good when bearing in mind he could hardly walk after a serious car crash a month previously. His right knee and right arm were damaged, but he decided this event could not be missed.
Poor Chris Thursby, from Dalmuir, Overton near Glasgow, missed the whole tournament with a chest infection. He played a consolation round on the final day to try out the course, using a buggy.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
203 Ben Taylor (pictured) 69 65 69.
205 Rhys Pugh 69 67 69.
217 Jordan Ainley 71 74 72.
219 Toby Tree 74 71 74.
220 Jerome Titlow 73 76 71.
224 Oliver Carr 76 76 72.
226 Luke Johnson 77 75 74.
228 Nick Ward 74 74 80.
229 Daniel Hendry 73 77 79.
239 Fraser Macleod 78 84 77.
240 Jack English 85 76 79.
Withdrew: Chris Thursby (ill).
GIRLS
Par 216 (3x72)
212 Hayley Davis (pictured) 70 68 74.
215 Amy Boulden 73 76 66,Kelly Tidy 73 70 72.
216 Bronte Law 70 72 74.
217 Alex Peters 72 72 73.
218 Heidi Baek 78 69 71.
225 Lauren Taylor 75 76 74.
236 Elizabeth Stebbings 81 78 77.
241 Bronwyn Davies 81 79 81.
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | 7:43:00 pm
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