Macauley and Saxel tame wind to head day two qualifiers
Brutal was the only way to describe conditions on the second
day of qualifying for the English Men’s Open Amateur
Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy at Ganton.
A blustery south easterly wind, that reached 50mph at one
stage, buffeted the famous north Yorkshire course and many
a dream was blown away as scores went soaring.
No one bettered the par of 71 and only two players, Callum
Macauley from Scotland and Edward Saxel from Hampshire, matched
it to book their places alongside a host of internationals
in the championship proper that starts this morning (Friday).
Macauley, home from college in America, arrived in Ganton
having won the West of Scotland Stroke Play last weekend.
But he admitted that patience was the key in the wind.
“I’m not used to these conditions,” he
said. “We don’t get this sort of weather in Mississippi,
where I’m at college. It was very tricky and you have
to keep the ball in play." He continued, “I only
hit my driver four or five times off the tee and I’m
just happy to be in the championship.”
Macauley, 22, from Kincardine, might have posted an even
better score. He was two under par with four holes to play
but ran up a pair of bogeys over the homeward stretch.
Saxel bucked the trend with five birdies in his 71, admitting
he didn’t get into much trouble. “I just took
the course on,” he said. “It was just a case of
grafting and I managed to avoid most of the problems.”
The 26 year old from Petersfield, who works as a concierge
at Wentworth, could be described as a surprise qualifier.
This is his first Brabazon and he has yet to play county golf
for Hampshire.
The pair qualified a shot ahead of another Scot, Paul O’Hara,
and England under-21 squad member Rob Harris.
“It was really tough,” said 19-year-old Harris
from Lincolnshire. “It was at least a two-club wind
and you had to keep the ball in play. But the job today was
just to qualify and I’ve done that.”
A total of 22 players on 75 or better made it. Among those
who didn’t were England international Lawrence Dodd
from Suffolk, who shot 79 and promising youngsters Tommy Fleetwood
from Lancashire and Yorkshire’s Nick McCarthy, both
on 76.
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