On a weekend when staying patient was especially key, 17-year-old Jake Plumb impressively rose to the occasion to claim the Cambridgeshire Men’s County Championship for the first time.
FORMAT: 72-hole stroke play
The fast, undulating greens at Saffron Walden proved a tough ask on Saturday and Sunday but the Links (Newmarket) player gradually got better over each round to see off home favourite Richard Southall by one shot.
Earlier this month the Impington Village College pupil won the ESGA Midlands Schools at Shropshire Golf Centre to qualify for the national finals and he carried that form into the weekend, taking the lead in the third round and closing with a 71 (-1). None of the 66 entrants broke 70.
“The greens were really fast and slopey and most of the players wouldn’t have been used that,” said Plumb, who was playing in the competition for only the second time.
“A lot of putts would have been racing six feet past and there was a lot of clearing up to do.”
The teenager was in the penultimate group on the final day having got to halfway just three behind 36-hole leader George Howard (The Gog Magog) but a 73 in the morning was enough to leave him one ahead of Howard, who closed with a 78, and playing partner Danny Loveday (St Neots).
For a long time it looked like his main rival for the title would be Loveday, who got back within two shots of Plumb with a birdie on the tenth.
That came after the Links junior had hit the front in style heading into the back nine. At the eighth he holed a 20-footer to get back to level par for his round before cutting the corner in brilliant fashion at the par five ninth off the tee. It left him just 150 to the flag and he stuck his approach to three feet, knocking in the eagle putt to get to three over for the tournament.
In the group behind, unbeknown to Plumb – he did not check the scores in the final round – county matchplay champion Southall went on a great run after bogeying the first. He picked up birdies at three, six and nine to get within two shots of the leader.
When Plumb bogeyed 13 the gap dropped to one but the youngster double his advantage at 16, pitching to three feet and again making no mistake with the short birdie attempt.
A few minutes later Southall bogeyed that hole to drop three back although he did birdie the next while Plumb bogeyed the par three closing hole.
“Playing the last I knew I was up but just didn’t know by how many. The 18th has OB all at the back and slopes from front to back so you have to pitch it in short but unfortunately I just got caught up in the fringe.”
The leader left his second six feet short and missed the downhiller but he would not have to wait long for confirmation the winners trophy was his for a year at least.