Sunnehanna great opener for Foster
BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2008 Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions | Round Four | 09 Jun 2008
Michael Foster may not have won the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, which finished this morning in Pennsylvannia, but he’s better from it.
A closing 4-over-par, 74 resulted in Foster finishing T11 at 2-over-par, ten strokes from defending champion Rickie Fowler’s 8-under-par, five stroke victory. The closing 74 was not how Foster wanted to end his opening tournament in America, which potentially could have seen him collect his second American title.
Foster was joint leader with Fowler at Sunnehanna after an opening 4-under-par, 66, which he followed with rounds of 72-70, to be only five behind Fowler moving into the final day. Foster’s final round of 74, obviously proving costly.
Overall the Western Australian Amateur Champion is primed for better achievements in the US.
“I’m generally pleased with my American start,” said Foster this evening as he was driving up to Pittford in the state of New York for the Monroe Invitational Championship, the next tournament on the Australian’s schedule, which starts this Wednesday.
“To get off to a good start in your first event here is really promising and gives you a lift moving forward for the other events.”
It was Foster’s short game that ultimately held him back during the final round, as the 2007 Rice Planters champion struggled recovering from wayward approach shots.
“My short game stressed my out there today. It was gone and just made it difficult. I was driving the ball well, but just could not get it up and down when I needed to,” said Foster.
“The course was certainly playing more difficult today. The scores reflected that as only a few players got it to under-par out there.”
Justin Roach was one player to secure a final day even-par round of 70, seeing the 2007 Australian Amateur runner up the next placed Australian behind Foster at T35 and 11-over-par, with rounds of 73-74-74-70.
A place behind Roach was Ray Beaufils at T38, after rounds of 78-70-72-72 to be 12-over-par, whilst Brett Rankin was well back in the field finishing T66.
Beaufils’ opening 78 damaged his chances this week, in what was otherwise a solid tournament for the Queenslander.
“My head still hasn’t cleared Customs,” said Beaufils this evening.
“This week at the Monroe I’ll be looking forward to giving it another go, especially the Long Drive competition.”
Beaufils finished 4th at the Sunnehanna Long Drive competition, bombing it 385 yards, against the winner’s 395 yards.
American Rickie Fowler collected his second back-to-back title at Sunnehanna this morning, winning with a five stroke margin over fellow American Daniel Woltman.
It’s been a perfect week for the 19-year-old, who was the youngest member of the 2007 US Walker Cup Team. On Tuesday, Fowler learnt that he’d qualified for next week’s US Open at Torrey Pines and that’s got to make any aspiring professional golfer happy.
