Another overseas title as Benson wins in Qatar
 Seve
Benson celebrated his call-up to the England Elite Squad by
winning the 36-hole Qatar Open Amateur Championship in Doha
on the 5th and 6th January.
The Surrey 20 year old (pictured - photo courtesy of Tom
Ward) carded a closing 74 for a one under par total of 143,
one shot ahead of fellow Surrey golfer, Gary King, a member
of the England under 18 squad, who closed with 73.
Benson led by one after an opening 69 and was five under
par after 27 holes. But a few shots slipped away over the
homeward nine including a bogey at the 15th where his approach
struck a rake and rebounded into a bunker.
Apart from the trophy, Benson’s victory also earns
him a place in the Qatar Masters on the European Tour over
the same course later this month.
“It was a thrill to win again,” said Seve, “although
it is not like winning a 72-hole championship. But when you
also gain an invite to a European Tour event it rates high
on my list.”
It was Benson’s third significant overseas victory
in little more than six months. He won the Russian Open Amateur
in Moscow last June and won the team title with fellow elite
squad member Ed Richardson at the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup
in Buenos Aires last month.
Benson also becomes the second English player to win the
Qatar Amateur. Yorkshire’s Danny Denison, now a professional,
won the title in 2005.
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