Wolstenholme claims his 2nd British Amateur title
BY iseekgolf.com | European Amateur Tour | 2003 British Amateur Championship | Wrap | 08 Jun 2003
It was a long time coming, but after a 12-year wait 42-year-old Gary Wolstenholme achieved his greatest ambition by winning his second Amateur Championship title at Royal Troon with a 6 and 5 victory over Raphael de Sousa of Switzerland. “It has been like seeing the moon every night, but not being able to get there,” he said. “To win one major championship is great, but to win two is something else.”
He first won the title at Ganton in 1991 and felt that the turning point for today’s victory was at the 15th hole of this morning’s round where he was in danger of going two down to his 20-year-old opponent. Faced with a very difficult bunker shot he was not able to get it closer than 20 feet. “I knew the putt had to go down. It was that big,” he said of the recovery that earned him a half.
From that moment on he surged into a two-hole half-way advantage and came out strongly in the afternoon, winning the first two holes. He increased his lead by pitching to two-and-a-half feet for a birdie at the long fourth and holed out from 10 feet for a winning par after going through the back of the short fifth.
Then de Sousa came back strongly with birdies from 12 and eight feet at the seventh and eighth. But his recovery ran into trouble at the ninth when his second shot finished in a bush and he had to take a penalty drop.
Wolstenholme closed out the match in style, hitting a three-wood to six feet at the 470-yard 13th.
The young Swiss player said: “I found it hard to get going and I was very nervous. At the 15th hole this morning I thought I might go two up, but Gary holed an important putt. I’m delighted to get through to the final. I have not been playing very well and hoped only to qualify. I never thought I would get so far.”
Wolstenhole is England’s most capped player and has been a Walker Cup team member four times, including GB&I’s three victories in 1995, 1999 and 2001.
Source – Randa
