Jager out of British Amateur
BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2009 British Amateur Championship | Matchplay Round Three | 19 Jun 2009
Matt Jager has been knocked out at the British Amateur Championship following today’s third round match play at Formby Golf Club in Liverpool.
The New Zealand Amateur Champion and Australia’s highest ranked amateur took England’s John Carroll to the wire, eventually going down in the match on the 20th hole. It was a chilling blow for Jager in a championship that was shaping up nicely for him and had promised so much.
“I’m a little disappointed with the outcome and I felt that I could have played better out there today,” said Jager after his encounter.
“I went into the match feeling that everything was in place and was happy with my preparation. Today the bounces just did not fall my way. That’s match play and you move on.”
Carroll was a top-16 finisher last year at Turnberry and plays out of Lancashire in Liverpool. The Englishman recently had a tied 3rd finish at the Lancashire Amateur, however, his time at this British Amateur did not last long after last year’s finalist,Tommy Fleetwood disposed of Carroll in the next round, 5&4.
Jager returns to Australia this Saturday for some rest and to prepare for his second tour of the US starting with The Players Amateur on 8 July at Belfair Golf Club in Bluffton, South Carolina.
After a runner-up finish at The Players last year, which added to his T4th finish at the Sahalee Players Championship in Seattle, Jager remains positive moving forward despite today’s set back.
“I leave the UK with a lot of positives about my game,” he says.
With two top-5 finishes from just four tournaments in America last season, and a National title to his credit, Jager will return to the US a more experienced and rounded player. With a structured playing schedule which focuses upon the main amateur events, he’ll also attempt to qualify for the first time for the US Amateur.
“Everything is falling into place with my game. Today was not the best and I really do feel that I could have done better. You move onto the next tournament and I’m returning to the US knowing that my game is there.”
Four other Australians, Brendan Smith, Daniel Nisbet, Bryden Macpherson and Lincoln Tighe had made it through 36 holes of qualifying to the match play portion of this British Amateur. None of them survived past the second round.
Top qualifier Matte Manassero continues his fine run at these championships, with the Italian progressing comfortably through to the quarter-finals to meet the informed Fleetwood. The other quarter-final in the top half of the draw sees Scotland’s Mark Hillson against Darren Renwick.
In the lower half, England’s Walker Cup squad member Sam Hutsby registered a 2&1 victory over Maximilian Kieffer of Germany to set up an encounter with Jurrian Van Der Vaart from the Netherlands. Whereas Sweden’s Nils Floren will meet England’s Stiggy Hodgson in the other quarter-final.
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