DUKE OF YORK TOURNAMENT

SAM SWOOPS WITH RECORD
65 TO WIN DUKE OF YORK
TROPHY: CARLY BEATS
GIRLS FIELD BY TWO
STROKES
England boys’ team captain Sam Hutsby staged a birdie blitz to slash five shots off the Dundonald course record with a brilliant final round of seven-under-par 65 and win The Duke of York Young Champions’ Trophy tournament over the Ayrshire links today.
Sam Hutsby and Carly Booth are pictured flanking HRH Prince Andrew.
Hutsby, 18, from Lee on Solent Golf Club, Hampshire, has thus started and almost finished the season with two outstanding victories. Back in the spring he won the Spanish open amateur title by whipping the then US amateur champion, Edoardo Molinari (Italy) by 7 and 6 in the final.
Now, Sam has beaten a field of 42 national under-18 champions from all over Europe and South Africa with a level par aggregate of 216. His earlier rounds were 72 and 79.
Hutsby, who started the final round five shots off the pace with seven players ahead of him, came storming through the field in a steady drizzle that slowed the pace of the greens down to his liking.
“I prefer putting on soft, wet greens and don’t mind at all playing in the rain,” said Sam. “But I didn’t realise I was playing that well. I had no idea I had birdied six of the last seven holes until I checked my scorecard at the end.”
Prince Andrew watched Hutsby play the last few holes and went on to the 18th green to congratulate Sam after he had finished with a birdie for an inward half of five-under-par 31.
“Sam was completely focused on his game. It was a terrific performance,” he said.
Hutsby, a full-time amateur who will be 18 next month, birdied the fourth, fifth, 12th, 13th, 14th , 16th (where he holed a bunker shot), 17th and 18th. Unbelievably in such a brilliant round, he did have a bogey – at the 15th where he missed a short putt.
Very few competitions have been played over the Dundonald links. The previous lowest score was a 70 in the qualifying rounds of the British senior open amateur championship.
Sam won by two strokes from Marc Dobias (Switzerland) and Robin Wingardh (Sweden).
Scottish boys’ match-play champion James White from Lundin started the final day sharing the lead but saw his chances disappear when he required 42 shots – six over par – for the front nine.
He got his game together after that to come home in two-under-par 34 for a 76 for a total of 222 and fifth place.
“I had a double bogey 7 at the fifth and also bogeyed the sixth and seventh. That ruined it for me,” said James.
Carly Booth, 14-year-old Comrie girl who flew back from Florida and the David Leadbetter Golf Academy to play in this event and next week’s Junior Ryder Cup, won the girls’ event by four shots with scores of 73, 77 and 73 for 223. She was placed sixth overall.
Scottish boys’ stroke-play champion Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw), partnered title-winner Hutsby over the final round, finishing with 76, 76 and 74 for 226 and 11th place overall.



THURSDAY SCOREBOARD

THE DUKE OF YORK YOUNG CHAMPIONS’ TROPHY
Dundonald Golf Club, Gailes, Ayrshire
FINAL TOTALS

BOYS (Par 72)
216 S Hutsby (Eng) 72 79 65.
218 M Dobias (Swi) 72 76 70, R Wingardh (Swe) 71 75 72.
221 M Veijlainen (Fin) 76 72 73.
222 J White (Sco) 72 74 76.
223 X Feyaerts (Bel) 71 76 76.
224 T Weiler (Ger) 73 76 75
225 M Mayhauser (Aut) 77 77 71, X Puig (Spa) 75 76 74.
226 S McAllister (Sco) 76 76 74.
227 D Wright (Eng) 76 81 70.
228 M Nixon (Eng) 71 78 79.
229 R West (SAf) 77 74 78.
230 A Runcie (Wal) 76 79 75.
233 N Rasmussen (Den) 75 82 76.
235 T Gurses (Tur) 73 85 77.
237 T Gornik (Slovenia) 74 85 78, L Goddard (Eng) 78 80 79.
240 P Kaiser (Nor) 77 81 82.
241 R Nechanicky (Cze) 78 88 75, B Gudmundsson (Ice) 74 79 88.
244 F Le Goff (Fra) 79 81 84.
245 L Scotto (Ita) 79 87 79, S Healey (Ire) 80 82 83.
251 P Pohi (Est) 82 87 82.
253 H Karas (Lux) 76 94 83.

GIRLS (Par 72)
223 C Booth (Sco) 73 77 73.
227 M Smit (SAfr) 74 79 74.
230 S Monberg (Den) 79 78 73.
232 M Duff (Swe) 75 81 76, C Wolf (Aut) 73 79 80
233 R Jennings (Eng) 78 81 74.
234 L Gonzalez (Bel) 75 83 76, K Ruzikova (Cze) 73 81 80, S Hausladen (Ger) 73 79 82.
240 F Vuignier (Swi) 79 87 74.
241 G Molinaro (Ita) 76 81 84.
243 L Henriksson (Fin) 86 82 75.
245 C Aasheim (Nor) 85 81 79.
250 V Jonsdottir (Ice) 76 97 77.
253 A Theunis (Lux) 85 83 85.
259 C Thuault (Fra) 86 88 85.

+The Duke of York Young Champions’ Trophy is won by the player (boy or girl) with the lowest three-round total.