St Enodoc player wins first county championship after playing 144 holes in four days
For most of the week new Cornwall Men’s Amateur champion Louis Archer walked the tightrope but in the final reckoning he took the title with room to spare at Newquay.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 5 rounds of matchplay
Having qualified in joint first, the 22-year-old was taken to the 18th green in his first four knockout matches before beating West Cornwall teenager Jack Kevern 4&3 in the 36-hole final on Saturday.
In fact in his last 32 tie with Perranporth’s James Ruddick, Archer was staring down the barrel after five holes. He was four down but battled back to reach the second round at the third extra hole.
He then won his next two matches one up before again being forced into a play-off in the semi-finals, birdieing the 19th to see off reigning champion Justin Barnard (Tehidy Park).
Archer said: “After three rounds I felt like it could be my week. It was one of those.”
However after 13 holes of the final, things were not looking good for the St Enodoc player with Kevern forging into a three-hole lead.
“In the morning I did not play amazing and had quite a few up-and-downs while Jack was holing a lot more putts.”
Archer, assisted by caddy/boss Nick Williams – the head pro at St Enodoc – did not get going until the 14th where a birdie cut the gap to two and at halfway he was just one down, winning the 18th with a par.
Kevern went off the boil at the start of the second round. Pars were enough for his playing partner to win the first four holes and lead by three before Archer extended his advantage at the seventh thanks to a birdie.
The West Cornwall player hit back with a birdie of his own at the next to reduce the arrears but Archer took 10 and 11, holing across the green from 30 feet to go five up.
Back came Kevern, who won the next two but his momentum was checked on 14 and a par was enough for the St Enodoc to go dormie four up.
And at 15 the teenager holed out from 25 feet for birdie, only for Archer to follow him in from ten feet to close out the match. It was also his 144th hole of golf in four days.
A day earlier it was all a lot more nerve-wracking for the new champion as he was taken to the wire in both matches.
In the last four clash with Barnard, Archer holed a 15-footer on 17 to go one up but then missed with approach at the last and a par was enough for the Tehidy Park player to get it back to all square.
However Archer responded superbly at the 19th, knocking in a 15-foot birdie putt to reach the final.
In the morning, the 17th was again his friend in his quarter-final tie with Simon Knowles (Perranporth). Again Archer birdied the hole to go one up and this time the last was halved in pars.
In the stroke play the competitive nature of the event was highlighted by the fact the top 32 qualifiers were separated by just nine shots.
Archer, along with Barnard and Carlyon Bay’s Alec Nile led the way, finishing level par for their 36 holes on Wednesday.