Midland Youths Open joy for teenage left-hander
Hertfordshire’s Adam Le Vey put recent driving struggles behind him to win the Midland Youths Open Championship at Stoke Rochford on Friday.
FORMAT:72-hole stroke play
The left hander from Old Ford Manor has been battling an over zealous slice but all his hard work to reset the driver paid off at the Lincolnshire venue as he finished three ahead of Berkhamsted Trophy champion Seb Cave to win his first regional title.
“I have been playing alright but my miss off the tee has been left,” said the 19-year-old, who has just finished his second year at Tournament Golf College. “I have always hit with a fade but recently have been overdoing it. It went much better at Rochford, and it was really nice to see all the work I have been putting in on my driving paying off.”
Le Vey went top of the leaderboard at halfway thanks to his best ever competition round (-5) and with 18 to go he led by three over Cave and Copt Heath’s Alexander Ford, who stormed into the reckoning with a third round 66 (-4).
However the Hertfordshire player birdied the first and second before parring 15 of the next 16 holes to close things out impressively. Ford birdied two of the first four holes in his final round but his challenge faded around the turn.
Le Vey’s “best drive of the week” set up his birdie at one as he left himself with just 80 yards in and then he pitched to six feet before holing out.
At the par five second, which had been playing downwind all week, he only had a wedge in for his second and, despite going long with his approach, was happy with the two-putt birdie.
That put him five ahead of England Boys squad member Cave, who could not mount a challenge until it was too late.
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When both players birdied the short par four 13th the gap was still five and then Le Vey holed a crucial 20-footer for par at the next.
Cave was able to apply a little bit of pressure as he eagled 16 and then bombed a drive down the last to within 40 yards of the green. Meanwhile the leader missed the green in two at 18, having pushed his second playing out of the rough.
Le Vey added: “As I was walking up to my ball on 18 I was just thinking, ‘oh please just get up and down and I’ll win’.”
The Coxmoor junior put his second to eight feet and would miss the birdie putt while the leader was able to get up and down to stay three clear, finishing on six under par for the tournament.