Matty Dodd-Berry won the first five holes in Cheshire Men’s Matchplay final on his way to an emphatic 7&6 victory at Astbury on Sunday.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 4 rounds of matchplay
The 18-year-old from Royal Liverpool had led qualifying and maintained his excellent form across all three days, including in the final where Fraser Macleod (Hazel Grove) felt that to full effect.
Dodd-Berry birdied one, two and five as he stormed into a huge lead and, despite losing the seventh, did not let up, clinching the title for the first time with yet another birdie on 12.
“After five holes I didn’t want to get too complacent,” said Dodd-Berry, who has already won the Clutch Tour this season (at Forest of Arden). “I was proud of myself that I was able to keep the foot down. I played really well, especially with the putter.
“And it was nice to win it at the 12th because it is right my the clubhouse so I didn’t have far to walk in.”
Having taken advantage of the two short par fours to start, he holed from ten feet for a par to go three up and executed an impressive up-and-down at the long par three fourth before wedging to four feet at the fifth.
Respite came for Macleod at the sixth and it got better for the Hazel Grove member at the next where the leader collected what would be his only bogey of the match.
Dodd-Berry, who lost in the round of 16 in his only other appearance in the competition, got back on the birdie train at the par five eighth, chipping to two feet to set up a four, which got him back to five up.
At the tenth a par was enough to for him to extend his lead and it was all over at the par five 12th where the champion-elect chipped to 20 feet and rolled it in for his fifth birdie of the match.
However it was different story in the morning semi-final against High Legh Park’s Christopher Chilton.
The Royal Liverpool teenager had been two up with three to play but lost 16 as his opponent birdied from eight feet and also could do little about 18 as Chilton hit a great pitch to within gimme range having driven to within 30 yards of the green.
At the first extra hole, Dodd-Berry drove the green at the 300-yard par four while the High Legh Park player was 20 yards short in the rough.
Chilton then chipped to 12 feet but could not convert while the A-Level student putted up to three-and-a-half feet and made no mistake with the birdie attempt.
The day before Dodd-Berry had opened with a 7&6 victory over Cam Tye (Eaton), collecting seven birdies along the way.
In the strokeplay stages there was a hole in one for Delamere Open champion Ollie Claireaux. He aced the 15th on his way to qualifying for the weekend in second.
Claireaux said: “The hole was 187 yards straight into wind, so I calculated it was playing at least 205 and I hit a flighted knock down 4-iron and my partners Sam Long (Delamere Forest) and Fraser McLeod (Hazel Grove) and myself were all delighted when the ball went into the hole!
“There were obviously celebrations on the tee with my playing partners but my family benefited the most by cracking open a bottle of champagne on my behalf!”