Crookall-Nixon powers to McGregor victory

Seb Crookall-Nixon, the 14 year old from Cumbria (photo courtesy of Tom Ward) carded closing rounds of 71 and 68 for an aggregate of 278, two under par, two strokes better than Birmingham s Jamie Carney and four shots clear of James Brockington from Henley.

Crookall-Nixon, the only player to finish under par, began the day three strokes behind Paul McPhee from Scotland but his morning 71 put him into a four-way tie on 210 with a round left. And his closing 68 was the perfect way to win the title although he would have finished even more emphatically but for bogeys at the final two holes.

However, he had a big enough lead not to have done serious damage and he was naturally delighted to be crowned champion.

Hopefully this will see my golfing career take off, he said. Things will change dramatically after this and hopefully I ll catch the eye of the England selectors. I wasn t feeling confident at the start of the week because I didn t practice that well. But I felt two under would be good enough to win and I was proved right. I m also hoping my win will encourage the kids back at my club to come and play and to do what I have done.

His win will also remind Crookall-Nixon of the day at Gosforth two years ago when persistent rain forced the under 14 championship to be cut to one round which left the Workington lad stranded in third place without a chance to challenge for the title.

There wasn t a chance the weather would intervene again although a day of brilliant sunshine was punctuated by a couple of heavy downpours over the glorious Wiltshire course.

By the turn in the final round, Crookall-Nixon had got to four under for the tournament while birdies at the 11th and 12th saw him virtually home and dry. A string of pars kept him well clear but three putts at the short 17th and another dropped shot at the last might have put some doubt in his mind.

But his pursuers were making any forward progress and were left to battle for the other places.

Perhaps the most disappointed was McPhee, who led for the first two rounds but faltered on the final day with rounds of 75 and 72 for 283 and joint fourth place.

I m a wee bit disappointed that I couldn t hold on to my lead but I m delighted to finish in the top five, he admitted. Nothing really clicked for me today but that was some performance from Seb.

Crookall-Nixon, who also won the under 15 award, is now setting his sights on the under 18 title and the Carris Trophy at the end of the month.

I ll be up for that and I ll also be back to defend this next year, he added.

More information, news and hole by hole results can be found on the Championships section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org