Aussies out of British Amateur
BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2008 British Amateur Championship | Matchplay Round Two | 20 Jun 2008
The second round of matchplay at the 2008 British Amateur will go down as a day of carnage for the Australians. Scott Arnold, Tom Prowse and Rhein Gibson, all looked promising after qualifying, yet have fallen victims to the tough Ailsa layout at Turnberry.
Arnold was soundly defeated 5&3 by England’s Dale Whitnell, who was a semi-finalist at the Australian Amateur in April. Prowse went down to Reinier Saxton from the Netherlands by the narrowest of margins, losing his match 1-down, as did Rhein Gibson in his encounter with Italy’s Andrea Pavan.
The battle for the final eight places in the British Amateur is now determined.
Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo, ranked 53 in the world is new on the senior amateur golf scene, having only just moved up from junior level golf, yet the 17-year-old has already proven himself with victories at the 2008 Portuguese Amateur, 2008 Irish Amateur Open and a tied-27th finish at the European Tour’s Madeira Islands Open in March.
Figueiredo’s opponent in the last-16 was England’s Dale Whitnell, who dashed Scott Arnold’s championship chances in his morning match by 5&3. He will play Dutch Match Amateur Champion, Reinier Saxton, ranked 149 in the world, and given his recent international achievements, Figueiredo should start favorite in the match and is certainly a player to follow in this Championship.
The top world ranked player left in the championship is Spain’s Jorge Campillo, at 16 in the world. Campillo is based in the American collegiate system and won the 2007 Biarritz Cup (France).
Last year the Spaniard made the 3rd round of matchplay at the British Amateur. He will play England’s Tommy Fleetwood, ranked 367 in the world, but a relative newcomer to the senior ranks. Fleetwood as a junior won 2007 International Junior in Japan and this year collected his first major amateur title with the Lancashire Amateur.
Two relative unknowns in Wales’ Joe Vickery and England’s James Frazer are the third group, whilst England’s Andrew Sullivan, who made the 3rd round of matchplay at last year’s Championship, plays against Italy’s Andrea Pavan, who finished 3rd in the 2008 British Amateur Medal.
