With a superb birdie on the final hole, pipping local hero Lewis Hollingworth into second place, David Hague sealed victory in the Lee Westwood Trophy by a single shot.
Hollingworth, playing in front of family and friends at home club Rotherham, was one stroke ahead of Hague and the rest of the field on the 72nd and final hole of the three-day event, as he aimed to become the second consecutive home player to win the title.
However, his drive found the trees to the right of the fairway leaving him with no shot to the green.
Malton& Norton GC star Hague saw his opportunity and hit an arrow-like long iron to the heart of the green leaving a tap-in for birdie and the championship.
He said: “I played steadily from tee to green all week but struggled on the greens.
“It has been a tough week for everybody with the wind being so gusty.”
Victory lifted a cloud on a difficult year for Hague, who had struggled with a virus for a large part of the season.
“I hadn’t played competitive golf until May and this was only my fifth WAGR event all year. But I’m fully fit again now and very happy to have won.”
Losing on the last was a bitter pill for Hollingworth who had performed well all week in very difficult conditions. None of the players in the field of 108 finished under par.
The Lee Westwood Trophy is one of England’s top amateur events. Officially known as The Rotherham Golf Club Open Strokeplay Championship, this annual World Amateur Golf Ranking PING/EGU Order of Merit 72-hole event is one of the major highlights of the golfing season in the region.
Past winners include: European Tour player David Horsey, Gary Wolstenholme, Rotherham’s Sam Haywood and Ben Schmidt, and Wath’s Nick Poppleton.
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