Three Aussies survive British Amateur
BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2008 British Amateur Championship | Matchplay Round One | 19 Jun 2008
Rhein Gibson, Scott Arnold and Tom Prowse have all made it through to the second round of the British Amateur in Turnberry, Scotland. The sole Australian casualty for the first round of the match play was last year’s runner-up, Tim Stewart, who lost to England’s Chris Wood, 3&2.
This week at Tunrberry, Arnold continues to exhibit impressive form, disposing of France’s and world number 19, Benjamin Hebert, 3&1.
Arnold, currently 33 in the world, will meet England’s Dale Whitnell in tomorrow’s second round, a semi-finalist at this year’s Australian Amateur.
Whitnell, ranked 13 in the World, won the 2008 Lagonda Trophy (UK) and finished runner-up at the Lytham Trophy a few week’s ago. The Arnold/Whitnell encounter promises to be one of the biggest match-ups in the second round, as both are capable of winning the Championship.
US-based Ausralian Rhein Gibson is set to play Italy’s Andrea Pavan, after Gibson won his match against Jonas Blixt, 1-up.
Pavan, ranked 340 in the world, won the Italian Stroke Amateur in 2007, and like Gibson, is in the US Collegiate system at Texas A&M University. Pavan also claimed The 2006 Omnium Championship, a professional event on the Italian Tour, with 13-under-par, to win by a shot. The victory landed him a spot in the 2007 Italian Open and he remains Italy’s top-ranked junior golfer.
The last surviving Australian, Tom Prowse, meets Reiner Saxton, a dual winner of the Dutch Match Amateur and ranked 149 in the World. Prowse continues to play well this week at Turnberry, after missing the cut at the Scottish Amateur in his opening UK tournament. Prowse’s best international performance is 13th at last year’s Rice Planters Invitational in America, although he was runner-up in the 2006 Victorian Amateur Medal.
Sam Hutsby, this year’s medallist in the stroke play is out of the Championship, losing 3&2 to American T.J. Bordeaux. New Zealand’s James Gill was also another casualty, going down 2&1 to American, Bill Rankin, after finishing T5 in the strokeplay event this week.
