In the continued dominance by Englishmen at the Spanish International Championship,
John Gough became the eighth English winner in the last 18 years Sunday at Sherry Golf Jerez in Cadiz, Spain, taking down
Michael Alexander Mjasseth 6 and 5 in the 36-hole championship match.
Gough, who played collegiately at Charlotte, adds another prestigious amateur title to his resume after he captured the English Amateur Championship at Moortown Golf Club last August. He also claimed the Palmetto Amateur in July.
"I’m so proud to have won this fantastic event," Gough told England Golf. “It’s been a very tough week but I feel as if I’ve been building up to this. To hold the English and now the Spanish amateur titles at the same is amazing. That’s something which doesn’t happen very often and is something that really brings it home to me how big an achievement this is."
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, in a far closer competition, won the women's division one up over Charlotte Back at Real Club Pineda Golf in Sevilla, Spain.
Gough broke away from Mjasseth in two key spurts. After splitting the first three holes, Gough won the fourth, fifth, and seventh to move to 3-up and went into lunch with a 4-up advantage.
Mjasseth pushed back to begin the second 18, winning the 19th and 21st to cut Gough’s lead in half with 15 to play. The finalists split the next five holes, as Gough broke away with three wins in a row on the 27th through 29th to move to five up. After tying the 30th, Gough closed out the victory on the 31st hole.
Gough's victory through the 64-player bracket nearly stalled in the opening round. He came out of the 36-hole qualifying tied for fourth, but his closest of six matches was his first, going 23 holes against fellow countryman
Jack Brooks in the longest matchup of the tournament. Gough sat one down with two holes to go in the first round. However, he came through with a birdie on the 17th to get back to all square against Brooks. After tying the 18th with pars, Gough emerged out of the five-hole playoff victorious.
Garcia-Poggio’s championship 18-hole match never saw her lead by more than one-up to Back. The battle seesawed between all square and one up, with Garcia-Poggio taking the lead three times. She secured it for good on the 14th, responding to Back’s birdie on the 13th with a par on the 14th.
Both finalists birdied the 18th, with Garcia-Poggio walking away with her third victory since 2021 when the Spaniard won the Copa Federacion Riohana de Golf and Campeonato de Espana Amateur III Memorial Emma Villacieros in two out of three starts.
ABOUT THE Copa S.M. El Rey
36 hole stroke play qualifying from which 32
players advance to match play. Draws a strong field
from across Europe.
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