Thomas Thurloway (Formby GC photo)
LANCASHIRE, England (Aug. 5, 2018) –
Thomas Thurloway is the new English men’s amateur champion, putting on an impressive display of power and precision to beat Joe Long, 6 and 5, in the 36-hole final at Formby Golf Club, Lancashire.
“This is massive, said the 20-year-old from Chartham Park in Sussex, who adds his name to a trophy which has been held by Danny Willett, Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey.
It’s Thurloway’s second win in just over a week,
following his success in the Walton Heath Trophy, where he was 9 under for 72 holes.
“That was my biggest win, but this has just topped it,” he said.
“I’ve been pushing and pushing and over the last few weeks I’ve given myself confidence and got into the right frame of mind to be winning - and winning on a big stage. It’s really, really nice.”
Thurloway is a very long hitter who capitalizes on his advantage with great play into and on the greens. His skills saw him get around in 8 under for the holes played today, while Long was probably 3 under.
Thurloway set out Sunday morning with six pars and three birdies and reached the turn at 4 up. But Long, from Lansdown Golf Club in Gloucestershire, hit back on the inward half, winning the 11th, 13th and 16th with birdies to narrow the margin to one hole.
However, Thurloway went in for lunch 2 up after playing a superb approach to the 18th which hit the pin and settled within a couple of feet to set up an easy birdie.
In the afternoon, the great play continued, with the 21st and 22nd halved in birdie. But it was Thurloway’s day and he pushed steadily on, making the most of his power play and his accuracy.
If he did find trouble, as he did on the 26th hole where he was knee deep in brambles, he had the strength to extricate himself and then the precision to hit his third to within a couple of feet on the pin – and again he walked off with a birdie, halving the hole with Long.
He hit very close to the pin on several occasion, but also holed a 25-footer for birdie on the 27th, to turn for home 6 up.
Long won the next two holes, with his own birdie on the short 28th and taking advantage on the 29th – where Thurloway drove almost 400 yards but missed a short putt. The Sussex man left the green telling himself “silly idiot” - and came straight back with a winning birdie on the 30th to return to 5 up.
He played conservatively off the tee on the 31st, avoiding the bunkers which caught Long’s drive. The policy paid off when Long’s par attempt missed and the title was conceded.
Now Thurloway plans a couple of week of rest before he returns to the USA to transfer to Jacksonville University in Florida.
ABOUT THE English Amateur
The English Amateur was played in its inaugural
year of 1925 at Hoylake when local golfer T
Froes Ellison captured the title. He successfully
defended the following year at Walton
Heath, a feat achieved by only six others: Frank
Pennink, Alan Thirlwell, Michael Bonallack, Harry
Ashby, Mark Foster, and Paul Casey. Sir Nick
Faldo is the most famous to have won the event
as the six-time major champion won the 1975
tournament at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
The tournament consists of two stroke
play rounds, after which the top 64 players
will advance to the match
play rounds, culminating in a 36-hole final
between two finalists.
View Complete Tournament Information