FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
Jake Sowden is certainly enjoying himself now he has finished his A-Level exams with the Yorkshireman maintaining his great run of form in the English Schools Golf Association Boys Final at Gog Magog yesterday.
The Read School Head Boy finished two clear of home favourite Jake Plumb and he will captain the English Schools side against Wales (August 29) and Scotland (TBC) later in the year.
The 18-year-old arrived in Cambridgeshire having finished as the leading individual in the Yorkshire Division Three Team Championship at Malton & Norton. A few days before that he lost in a play-off in the East Riding Amateur Championship at Beverley where former Brabazon Trophy champion Steve Uzzell (Hornsea) edged him out over three holes.
However this time Sowden was not to be denied despite a degree of tiredness kicking in towards the end of his final round.
“I know the score doesn’t reflect it but I played better in the first round,” said the new champion, who is a member at Ganton, The Oaks and Selby. “A couple of silly mistakes really cost me in the morning and I had countless lip-outs.
“I don’t normally struggle playing 36 holes in a day but the second round turned into a real grind. I started to fatigue and scrapped it around.”
He led by one at halfway despite a potentially destabilising four-putt on the second.
A stunning approach to three inches on the 210-yard par three eighth really kick-started his challenge and a run of three birdies on the bounce, starting at 12th, got him two under for his round. Another beautiful iron shot (to two feet) at the 14th set up his sixth birdie of the day.
However he got unlucky at 17 where a bunker light on sand caused him problems and his second double of the day meant he posted a level-par 72 and left him one ahead of Plumb.
In the afternoon he started on the tenth and managed to avoid any major problems. His one-under-par 71 left him leader in the clubhouse for two hours but the wait proved to be worth it. Plumb followed up his first-round 73 with a 72.