FEARLESS golf on a
cheerless day earned
Stiggy Hodgson a handsome
dividend at
Blackmoor on Saturday,
making him, at 17, the
youngest winner of the
Selborne Salver.
Fresh from his stirring midweek
victory in the McEvoy
Trophy, Hodgson, of
Sunningdale, carded 68, 65 to
win by two strokes from
Hendon's Luke Goddard. Even
off +3, these were exceptional
scores in any conditions, leave
alone in the chill wind and rain.
His afternoon round contained
14 pars and four birdies, with a
back nine of 31 strokes.
Goddard had matched
Hodgson's 65 to lead at lunch.
With four birdies and no
dropped shots, he, like Hodgson,
had no score over four on his
card, but the magic left him and
he could do no better than 70 in
the afternoon.
Barely taller than Woosie and
nowhere near as wide, Hodgson
still hits it out there. But he is
also a superb iron player and
time and again his approach
shots were within a dozen feet
of the flag.
advertisement
His morning featured birdies
at the third, seventh, eighth,
11th and 12th holes, but he shed
shots at four holes going out.
His 68 was matched by Alex
Christie (Tyrrells Wood), who
made twos at both the 12th and
15th holes.
Second at the break was Adam
Wainwright, (Gainsborough),
who was out in 36, but surged
home in 30,with birdies at 11 and
12 and an eagle at the long 13th.
No one else was in red figures,
though four players, including
England Elite man and 2007 runner-
up Matt Cryer (Coventry),
were well placed on 70.
Playing the course the wrong
way round', Hodgson did the
groundwork with birdies at the
12th, 13th and 14th for a half of
31. It might have been 32, but he
holed a devilish downhiller from
15 feet to save par at the 18th.
He salvaged par again at the
second, where he was through
the back and got lucky when his
pitch hit the stick and fetched
up a yard away. He reeled off
four more pars, all good birdie
chances, and then scrambled a
par at the tricky seventh.
A comfy four at the long
eighth, where he chipped to two
feet, was followed by a steely
three at the last, his 12-footer
for a two and a 64 just staying
topside.
"I felt so relaxed out there
and didn't think about winning
until the last three holes. I knew
a four, three finish would do it
and I'm really pleased to prove I
belong out here in senior golf,"
said Hodgson, who added:
"Blackmoor's a great course and
the greens were fantastic."
Liverpool-born, he was not yet
three when he first picked up a
club. In fact, he found it in a
skip, hence that "Stig of the
Dump" monicker. At eight, he
won theWorld Junior title, emulating
Tiger Woods. When his
family moved south in 2002, the
young Hodgson joined
Sunningdale and was off scratch
at 14. An England Boy international
and winner of the Daily
Telegraph Junior crown last
autumn, Hodgson is now eyeing
a full England cap and a serious
tilt at the big events.
In third place was Miles
Mackman (Broome Manor), who
added a 67 to his 70, edging out
Wainwright, whose afternoon 71
was five shots more than his
morning effort.
Billy Fowles (Wentworth) was
next with 71, 67, a stroke clear
of Adam Wootton (Oxford City),
on 73, 66, Andrew Cooley
(Chobham), on 71, 68 and Alex
Christie, 68, 71.
Matt Cryer added another 70
for 140, a shot ahead of Jamie
Abbott (Fynn Valley), Ben
Loughrey (Wrag Bran) and
Farren Keenan (Sunningdale).
But Matt Haines, the +4 man
from Rochester, had a nightmare,
taking an 11 down the
eighth, where he was twice
OOB. By contrast, he negotiated
the other par-five, the 13th, in
three. He followed his 81 with a
respectable 71, however.
Pick of the Hampshire players,
all 142, were Martin Young
(Brokenhurst Manor) and Stuart
Archibald (Blackmoor), both
with 74, 68; Mark Burgess
(Blackmoor), 73, 69; and Ryan
Henley (Stoneham), 72, 70. A
shot back was Tom Robson
(Rowlands Castle), 73, 71.
Mark Thistleton (Hayling), the
defending champion, had an
awful time, with 75, 77, but clubmate
Toby Burden hit back with
a 70 after his earlier 76. Darren
Wright (Rowlands Castle) also
improved, from 75 to 71, as did
Mark Bell (Shanklin &
Sandown), 79, 71. County captain,
Andy Bow (Stoneham), shot
75, 76, a shot clear of Elliot
Groves (Dunwood Manor), 79, 73.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
