Barclay Brown, from Hallamshire Golf Club, clinched the Carris Trophy with a narrow 1 shot victory at Fulford Golf Club, York. The 17-year-old England Boy International birdied the final 2 holes to overhaul Gregorio De Leo from Italy to claim his first major win with a score of 280 (8 under par).
An opening round of 73 (which included 6 penalty shots) left Brown 7 shots off the pace. However, successive 68’s in Rounds 2 and 3 positioned him only 2 shots behind De Leo and his “come from behind” win was secured with a birdie-birdie finish for a final round 71.
He has been playing well all year (including 11th in the Fairhaven Trophy and 3rd in the Peter McEvoy Trophy), so this triumph was richly deserved.
International Challenge
The defending champion, Italy’s Andrea Romano, headed a total of 144 players for the 2018 English Boys’ Under 18 Open Amateur Stroke Play Tournament for the Carris Trophy. This prestigious boys’ championship was played over 72 holes at Fulford Golf Club, from Tuesday 24th July to Friday 27th July.
Eighteen countries were represented, confirming the International prestige and stature of this championship.
Fulford Golf Club
Situated about 1 mile from the historic city of York, Fulford Golf Club is a superb heathland and woodland course that provided an excellent but fair challenge to all of the players. In the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s Fulford hosted 23 consecutive European Tour Events, in particular, the Benson and Hedges International Open which was won over the years by golfing legends such as:
- Tony Jacklin
- Lee Trevino
- Tom Weiskopf
- Greg Norman
In fact, every hole is named after each of the (seventeen) winners, starting with Hole 1 – Jacklin…..though the most famous hole is Hole 17 – Langer. Two-time major winner Bernhard Langer never actually won this Tournament but during Round 3 in 1981, he hit a wayward second shot into a tree to the left of the 17th green. Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity refused to “play ball” and thus a very young Bernhard, with the help of some enthusiastic spectators, clambered up the tree, played a miraculous shot onto the green and then proceeded to two-putt for a Bogey. This iconic shot was then streamed around the world…..and for the record, Langer eventually finished joint second.
Round 1
At 07:00, the official starter got the Championship underway and from the outset, the quality of golf was of the highest standard. At the end of Round 1, the leaderboard was headed by Joe Sullivan of Chartham Park Golf Club with an excellent score of 66 (six under par), comprised of 7 birdies with the only dropped shot coming at the Par 4 13th. He was originally 11th on the reserve list so certainly made the most of the opportunity.
Three shots behind the leader on three under par were Gregorio De Leo of Italy and Eemil Alajärvi of Finland.
Andrea Romano started well but finished with a 76 (the defending champion, from Castelgandolfo Golf Club near Rome, eventually finished the championship T20)
Barclay Brown had an “eventful” first round of 73 which included 6 penalty shots!!
Round 2
Josh Hill of England propelled himself to a share of the lead at the end of Round 2 with a stunning score of 65. One under par at the turn, he then proceeded to have 5 consecutive birdies on the back nine and an eagle up the last, with the only blemish being a bogey at the 16th.
Also in a share of the lead (at four under par) were overnight leader Joe Sullivan (74) and Italians Simone Armando Colozza (69), and Alessio Battista (68)
Another low scorer was Harrison Arnold (the leader of the England Golf boys’ order of merit) who shot a 66 to be only 1 shot behind the 4-way tie at the top. Barclay Brown also finished the day only 1 shot behind the leaders after an impressive round of 68.
The cut came at a total of 149 (five over par), so 63 players contested the final 2 rounds.
Round 3
Gregorio De Leo, the Italian Boys Champion, produced the round of the day with a superb 65 to take the overall lead on nine under par.
The start of his third round (1 birdie, 2 pars, 2 bogeys) gave no clues of what was to follow. A run of six consecutive birdies from the 6th and a further 2 birdies on the 17th and 18th positioned him in a very strong position to add the England Boys Championship to his golfing CV and retain the Carris Trophy for Italy.
Barclay Brown moved into second place, 2 shots behind De Leo, with a second successive round of 68.
Josh Hill fared best of the overnight leaders, though his 73 left him six shots behind De Leo in joint third place with Matthew Freeman of Notts Golf Club who climbed over 30 places with a round of 66.
Round 4
Despite a delay of over 3 hours due to a thunderstorm, the final round of the 2018 Carris Trophy did not disappoint.
There were many fine performances including Eemil Alajärvi (67), to finish 3rd on six under par and Connor McKinney, Simone Armando Colozza and Alessio Battista who all shot 68 to finish joint fourth on four under par, but effectively the Championship came down to “match play” between Gregorio De Leo and Barclay Brown.
De Leo quickly doubled his overnight lead to 4 shots following his birdie at the 1st and Brown’s bogey at the 2nd. Despite a dropped a shot at the 7th, De Leo still held a 3 shot lead at the turn, and so like many Professional and Amateur Championships, it all came down to the final 9 holes.
The lead narrowed to only 1 shot following a birdie by Brown at the Par 5 11th and a bogey by De Leo at the Par 4 12th. Over the next 4 holes, both players dropped a shot and so De Leo still held a 1 shot lead as the players approached the 17th.
Just like the Benson and Hedges International Open all those years ago, the 17th played a pivotal role. Both players set up a birdie opportunity but whilst Brown sank a 35ft putt, De Leo was unable to follow suit and thus the lead was tied.
On the 72nd and final hole, De Leo found a bunker with his drive on the slight dog-leg Par 5 whilst Brown was in perfect position off the tee. Brown was then able to hold his nerve and birdie the last whilst De Leo’s attempt for a birdie to ensure a playoff slid by the hole.
So after 4 days of magnificent golf, Barclay Brown won by one shot with a score of 280 (eight-under).
Hailstones in July
The tournament just completed in time, as whilst Barclay Brown was being presented with the Trophy, the York skies opened with a deluge of heavy rain and hailstones, some of which were the size of ice cubes…..just what you expect during the month of July in England!!
Past Champions
Barclay Brown now joins an impressive roll of honour for the Carris Trophy, which has been contested since 1935. Below are just some of the winners who have gone onto win Golfing Majors and European Tour Events:
- 1974 – Ken Brown
- 1975 – Sandy Lyle
- 1995 – Justin Rose
- 1996 – Graeme Storm
- 2010 – Callum Shinkwin
No doubt many of the players who played this year will progress to enjoy long and illustrious professional careers….a future major winner?…..hopefully
Players to Watch
Golfing Herald nominates two players to watch from the elite field who played at Fulford Golf Club:
Barclay Brown – by winning the prestigious Carris Trophy, Barclay Brown further demonstrated his potential. He will no doubt target and be very competitive in the various Junior and Senior Amateur championships over the next 12 months before possibly commencing a scholarship at Stanford University (an American institution whose most famous golfing alumni is none other than Tiger Woods!!).
Archie Davies – after accumulating 5 birdies in the final 8 holes, Archie Davies finished T20 with a score of 289 (72-73-74-70). Prior to the Carris Trophy, Davies, a Welsh Boy International from Carlisle Golf Club, won the North Wales Boys Championship in May and the Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship in June.
In conclusion…………a superb venue, very well organised by England Golf and Fulford Golf Club, well attended and a very worthy winner.
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