There was surprise and delight for Wilpshire’s Noah Cambridge as he stormed to victory in the East Lancashire Golf Association Men’s Championship this week.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 3 rounds of matchplay
The 18-year-old is believed to be the youngest winner of the Harold Ryden Championship for at least 30 years thanks to his 7&6 demolition of club-mate Gregg Peel on Wednesday night.
Cambridge, the 2022 Lancashire Boys champion, did not lose a hole at Clitheroe and became the first Wilpshire member to take home the illustrious trophy for 25 years.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Cambridge.
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“I have played a few times with Gregg and knew what he was like. He is a good golfer so it was very satisfying to win so convincingly.”
Cambridge, who is also a member at Royal Lytham, set the tone by eagling the first and a par was enough to put him two up at the third.
The teenager just missed his birdie attempt on four but did not make the same mistake at the next, rolling one in from 16 feet to go three up.
Peel’s inability to get up and down on the seventh meant he was four down but came close to pulling one back at the next as his opponent’s par putt just caught enough of the hole.
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He also had another decent chance to get it back to three down at the ninth but three putted after Cambridge’s 15-footer for par lipped out.
That mistake was compounded at the 10th as Cambridge birdied it to go five up and, after a fabulous drive on 11, a solid par was enough for the lead to be extended.
It was then all over at the next as both players struggled and with Peel missing his bogey putt, the leader, found the putting surface in three and his parr putt lipped out but bogey was enough to secure the Harold Ryden Trophy.