GARY King played the
shot of his young life to
win the Hampshire Hog
at North Hants GC on
Sunday. Locked in a playoff
with the veteran Steve
Barwick, the 17-year-old
arrowed a five-wood
through pouring rain precisely
220 yards to the
flag, hard right at the
back of the first green,
writes KIT NEILSON.
His ball pitched 18
inches short of the stick
and stopped 30 inches
behind, from where his
putt was a formality. The
gallant Barwick had
coaxed his 30-footer holeside,
but his day was
done.
Both players had earlier
tied on a two-round
total of 137, three under
par on a day when far
more fancied golfers
struggled for birdies in
the face of some fiendish
pin placements.
An England Boy and
U18 player, King, now off
+2, would not have fancied
his chances after his
first nine of the afternoon,
however, when he
was three over. But he got
it home in 31, with four
straight birdies from 12th
to 15th to put himself
back in contention.
"I stayed focused and
started to hole a few. The
surfaces were superb, but
there were no easy putts
out there," said King,
who eventually hopes to
turn pro, hopefully via a
place in the 2009 Walker
Cup.
His morning 68 had
been only a shot adrift of
Barwick (Stoke Park) and
Charlie Cossins (Bath).
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The former, a 20-year veteran
of county golf with
Berks, Bucks & Oxon and
runner-up in the Selborne
Salver all of 15 years ago,
was out in 32, birdieing
the first, third, fifth and
sixth.
Cossins's fine round
started badly, with a
bogey at the first, but
that was to be his last and
he birdied the third, 13th,
15th and 17th. Sadly, his
form went south with his
lunch and he fell out of
contention.
King's morning 68 contained
four birdies and
saw him one ahead of
Ryan Henley (Stoneham),
Darren Renwick
(Worthing) and Nicholas
Pateman (Porters Park).
But Stiggy Hodgson
(Sunningdale), winner on
Saturday, blew to a 74, as
did the favourite, Matt
Haynes (Rochester &
Cobham), winner of the
2007 Carris and McEvoy
titles last year.
Matt Cryer (Coventry)
carded 73, a full four
shots better than defending
champion, Jason
Barnes (Chart Hills). Two
other +3 men, Jamie
Abbott (Fynn Valley) and
Luke Goddard (Hendon)
left themselves much to
do, with 71 and 72.
Barwick's afternoon 70
was a rollercoaster, with
four birdies, two bogeys
and a double at the 12th.
Had he known it, his sixfooter
at the long 17th
would have won the trophy,
but it grazed the hole
and stayed up.
He made up for it with
a superb putt from all of
45 feet to tap-in distance
at the last.
In third spot, courtesy
of a resolute afternoon
68, was Goddard, whose
140 tally was matched by
Renwick, with a secondround
71, and Adam
W a i n w r i g h t
(Gainsborough), 71, 69.
Scott Nightingale
(Worthing) returned 73,
68 for 141, a score
matched by Ben
Loughrey (Wrag Barn)
and Brokenhurst Manor's
Martin Young, 72, 69.
All on 142 were
Andrew Cooley
(Chobham), Alex
MacGregor (Killiow),
Miles Mackman (Broome
Park), Eddie Pepperell
(Drayton), runner-up in
last week's McEvoy
Trophy, and Andy
Shakespear (Five Lakes).
Second-best of the
home county players were
Darren Wright
(Rowland's Castle) and
Toby Burden (Hayling),
both with 70, 73, one
ahead of Henley, who
stumbled to a 75 after
lunch. Mark Burgess
(Blackmoor) shot 74, 73
for 147, the same tally as
Neil Raymond
(Corhampton), on 71, 76.
Mark Thistleton
(Hayling) redeemed himself
with a 72 after a
morning 78 and Tom
Robson (Rowland's
Castle) had a brace of 77s
for 154.
The Hampshire Salver
for best four round-total
over the Selborne
Salver/Hampshire Hog
weekend went, on countback,
to Stiggy Hodgson,
who carded 68, 65, 74, 68
for 275, an aggregate
matched by Luke
Goddard, who lost out on
the last nine holes.
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