Albert Hansson came from three down with eight to play to beat his classmate Didrik Ringvall Bengtsson and win the 95th Boys’ Amateur Championship at Carnoustie.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 6 rounds of matchplay
Both boys finalists attend the same school in Helsinborg so there was a guaranteed first Swedish winner in seven years. Marcus Svensson took the title in 2015.
Majestic Lottie Woad seals the deal at Carnoustie with six birdies in nine holes
And Hansson rallied down the stretch to win 2&1 and follows in the footsteps of last year’s winner Jack Bigham plus the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Sergio Garcia and Jose-Maria Olazabal.
Hansson said: “It feels incredible. I prepared with my Swedish team during practise and to be here as the winner feels like a dream.
“It was a special occasion to play each other as friends. It felt good to play against Didrik, not that good to win against him than someone else, but I know he will win big tournaments in the future.
“I almost thought it had slipped out of my hands, to be honest, but I kept fighting. I knew I had some good golf left in me and tried to bring it into the back nine which I did. I hit some good shots but I was a little lucky as well.
“I kept smiling! I love golf and have loved playing at Carnoustie. To have it broadcast live and play in front of the crowd as well has been amazing.”
Hansson and Ringvall Bengtsson (18) shared four birdies in their opening six holes. Hansson, from Skaftö, birdied the first two holes but his countryman replied with birdies at the fourth and sixth as a tight match remained all square through 13 holes.
A superb eagle from Hansson at the par-5 14th gave him the lead once more and he restored his two-up advantage after Stockholm’s Ringvall Bengtsson failed to get up and down with his chip from rough at the 15th.
Over Carnoustie’s difficult closing stretch, Hansson bogeyed the long par-3 16th to go back to one up and they exchanged holes at 17 and 18 to leave Hansson one hole ahead at halfway.
The soon-to-be-champio bogeyed the 19th as the match returned all square before Ringvall Bengtsson surged ahead. He made a remarkable five birdies in six holes from the 20th to go three up after the 26th as Hansson could only reply with two birdies over the same stretch.
But, in a see-saw tie, Hansson refused to be beaten. He birdied the 29th before Ringvall Bengtsson found trouble at the next to concede the hole and suddenly there was only one hole in it. Hansson’s birdie at the 33rd and his opponent’s bogey at the long par-3 34th saw Hansson go ahead.
A par was then good enough for his comeback success at the 35th, as the finalists played the afternoon’s 17 holes in only two hours and 40 minutes.
Hansson, the winner from a 252-player field, earns exemptions into The Amateur Championship, US Boys’ Junior, subject to age eligibility, and The Open Final Qualifying. On the day Ewen Ferguson – the 2013 Boys’ Amateur winner – won the ISPS Handa World Invitational on the DP World Tour, Hansson will have another illustrious example to follow.
For all the scores click here