Fleetwood Cruises to the Round of 16

Tommy Fleetwood continued his march towards the English Amateur Championship at Little Aston with a 5 and 4 win over Luke Cornford from Sussex, otherwise is wasn’t a good morning for the Lancashire players.

Starting with six representatives, they lost four, only Jonathan Hurst joining Fleetwood in the last 16 for this afternoon’s third round.

Fleetwood had little trouble against Cornford, racing into an early lead and completing his victory on the 14th green.

Similarly, Hurst was generally in control against Patrick Kelly from Boston West, a member of the England under 16 squad, and cruised to a 6 and 5 win.

International team-mates Jamie Abbott and Chris Paisley shared the birdies in an intriguing contest but Abbott was generally ahead and completed a 3 and 2 victory over the 2008 losing finalist, who was playing his final individual event before turning professional. Chris Lloyd, the leading qualifier, was given a fight by Adam Keogh which looked like finishing out in the country with Lloyd 3up with three to play. But Keogh birdied the 16th before Lloyd three-putted 17, then Keogh missed from 12 feet at the last to force the contest into extra holes.

Darren Wright, winner of the Brabazon Trophy, reached the last 16 with a 5 and 4 win over Andrew Palmer, another Lancastrian, while Jack Senior added to Lancashire’s woes by losing 2 and 1 to Surrey’s Warren Harmston. The contest was packed with birdies with Senior around six under and Harmston approximately eight under at the end.
Tom Lewis, another England international, enjoyed a two-hole lead over Max Smith but the boy cap bounced back to take the contest to the 18th where a half for Lewis was enough to see him through by the narrowest of margins.

Boy international James Burnett holed from 25 feet on the final green to put out Jack Brooks, while Andy Sullivan, Midland Closed champion and winner of the Lagonda Trophy, ended the hopes of James Robinson with a 3 and 1 victory.

Nick Newbold, Derbyshire’s lone survivor, also had to go to the final green to put out Kent’s Tom Sherreard, a semi-finalist two years ago, by one hole