FORMAT: 54-hole stroke play
When the putter gets hot good things can happen on the golf course and that was certainly the case for Wentworth’s Leo Vorobyez yesterday in the Midland U-16s Boys Open.
The Surrey player looked out of title-winning contention after racking up four bogeys in a row during his penultimate round at Hawkstone Park in Shropshire.
However he proceeded to play his final 23 holes in 10 under par to win by one from Walton Heath’s Monty Holcombe. Edward Linley (Romford) and first round leader Jake Wallis (Garforth) were a further shot behind.
In the final round Vorobyez enjoyed a “phenomenal” day on the greens, culminating in him holing from 10 feet (15th), 10 feet (16th), 12 feet (17th) and 18 feet. His closing 66 was his lowest competition round (-6) and he birdied four of the last six holes to claim the biggest title of his life so far.
“In the first round on Wednesday I didn’t take my opportunities and shot 71 but yesterday I did,” said the 15-year-old.
“In round two I lost my head a bit with those four bogeys in a row but my eagle on 14 was a big moment. I also holed a 25-foot par putt at 15 to keep things going.”
In round two, the Wentworth junior bogeyed ten thru 13 to drop back to three over par for the tournament but he would start the final round on one under after following up his superb three on 14 with birdies at 16 and 17.
That left him four behind Wallis, who had set a blistering pace in the morning. The Yorkshire player opened with a bogey-free 65 (-7) and followed it up with a second round 74 to leave himself one ahead of Sussex junior Drew Sykes (Golf at Goodwood) going into concluding 18 holes.
In round three Vorobyez opened with a birdie, got another at two and then followed it up with brilliant three at the stroke index par four seventh. He had 170 yards in for his approach shot and stuck it to three feet.
However the real fireworks started at the 13th where he wedged it to two feet and tapped in for his fifth birdie on the round.
ENGLAND NEWBIE AMELIA WAN SHOWS ALL HER CLASS TO WIN MIDLAND U-16S GIRLS OPEN
Once he reached the par five 14th in two, another one looked highly likedly and he comfortably got down in two to get to four under for his round.
At 15 and 16 his putter got him out of trouble but, after back-to-back pars, he birdied 17 by sinking a 12 footer.
Vorobyez added: “The 17th was a weird hole. After hitting the putt I immediately thought I had missed it and started walking after the ball But I had completely misread the line and it dropped in.”
His putt at 18 was more conventionally on target and his seven under par total was wasn’t bettered by the six remaining players in the final two groups.