Bernard Darwin Youth Salver turns in survival of the fittest at Sussex links venue
Welsh international Tomi Bowen survived a first-round battering and came out smilling as he secured the prestigious Bernard Darwin Youth Salver at Rye last night.
Format: 72-hole stroke play
The open competition regularly attracts many of best U-21s in the country but Bowen, along with most of the 50-strong field, battled the east Sussex course and driving winds on Tuesday morning.
The Welsman opened with an 11-over 79 but fought on on impressively to win the tournament by one shot from Bognor Regis’s Harry Malin and Scotland’s Alex North (St Andrews). Just three shots separated the top eight.
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For Bowen, who has played in the last two Home Internationals, the victory came as a huge “relief”, finally securing himself WAGR points after a number of near misses.
“I think it was the only time I wasn’t too disappointed with an 11-over round,” said the 20-year-old. “On one hole I could only move my four iron 160 yards and, because of the winds, at times on the greens I was expecting the ball to move left to right even though the putt had right-to-left break.
“I didn’t play that badly in the first round. I was just a little bit off in every department.
“However the second round was a lot more enjoyable. It was playing tough and I stayed optimistic.
“In terms of the victory the WAGR points side of it is a big relief. That feels like a big monkey off my back.”
Bowen’s opening round left him six back of first round leaders Sean David (Pyle & Kenfig) and Charlie Gilgenkrantz (West Hove).
The Welshpool golfer started the second round on the tenth and his round sprung into life thanks to a couple of excellent par saves on his sixth and seventh (15/16). He then holed a 20-footer on the 243-yard par three 17th for a brilliant two and then birdied the first and second (his 10th/11) to set up his level-par effort.
The next morning he recorded the lowest score of the tournament (66) to take a two-shot lead over Hertfordshire’s Max Hopkins going into the final round. Once again he had started on the tenth and would-turn in three over after making a mess of 18.
However he landed a 35-foot eagle putt on the first (his 10th), setting up a stunning inwards nine of 29. That included birdies at the second (15 feet), sixth (45 feet) and the ninth, where he drove the short par fourth and two-putted for a 66.
On the final afternoon he played the holes in their normal order and, after a slow start, parred all ten holes either side of the turn to keep the chasing pack at bay. A critical birdie followed at the long, par four 15th and that meant he could bogey 16 and 18 and still carry off the title.
Bowen added: “During that run of pars there was some great lag putting.”