Hertfordshire Men’s Championship joy for Bishops Stortford talent
A once-in-a-lifetime recovery shot from Max Hopkins arrived just when he needed it and inspired him to a remarkable victory in the final of the Hertfordshire Men’s Championship at Hadley Wood on Sunday.
FORMAT 36-hole stroke play / 4 rounds of matchplay
The former Daily Telegraph Series winner – he was just 14 when he eclipsed a stellar field in 2017 – was one up over Joss Gosling (The Melbourne Club) playing the eighth when his drive at the par five went too far right and came to rest in front of a tree.
With the trunk ensuring he couldn’t swing normally and branches overhead causing him more problems, he closed the face on a 56 degree wedge and intentionally pulled the ball to 12 feet and miraculously got away with a half.
The former Hertfordshire Boys champion then won the next having nearly drove the green at the short par four ninth and after 15 holes was three up.
In his morning semi-final against South Herts’ George Leversuch he had been in the same position but was taken all the way to the 18th.
And it looked like that might happen again as the Bishops Stortford player lost 16 and then watched his opponent drain one from 30 feet for a birdie at 17.
However Hopkins, incredibly, followed him in from 25 feet to record his sixth birdie of the round and close out the match 2&1 for his first senior county title. It was also his tenth round of golf in five days.
“The shot on eight was the probably best I have ever hit,” said the 19-year-old, who came into the event having finished third behind Tyler Weaver in the Lagonda Trophy.
“He (Gosling) had got to the front of the green in two so I thought I might as well have a go and just gave it a huge in-to-out swing. There was a big chunk of tree behind the ball so to get out of that with a half was a big moment.
“Overall it was a big confidence boost moving into bigger tournaments. In the later rounds of matchplay my putting got better and I got more consistent with the driver.”
In the morning the drama started at 16 as Leversuch “stiffed one” to cut the cap to two before the Bishops Stortford teenager made a mess of the next to ensure they went down the last.
At 18 Hopkins drove into a divot but managed to bundle the ball down to 20 feet while his opponent was a touch further away in two.
The South Herts player couldn’t hole out so his opponent had two for it and lagged his putt upto within gimme range.
On Friday Hopkins had qualified for the knockout stages in second behind recent Hertfordshire Bowl Open champion Zach Little, who was knocked out in the semi-final by Gosling.