Sweden’s Oskar Bergqvist wins the 2014 Boys Amateur Championship
Bergqvist edged out Lester with a one hole victory in Sunday’s 36-hole final to become the first Swede to win the Boys Amateur since Leif Westerberg at Royal Mid-Surrey in 1992.
Strong winds buffeted the Ayrshire links for the duration of the Final creating testing conditions for both competitors. In the morning round Bergqvist was the quickest to adapt and had gained a two hole advantage over his Irish opponent by the time the pair reached the 7th tee as both players struggled amidst wind gusts reaching 50mph.
Bergqvist played a confident back nine posting a birdie to win the 12th hole and when Lester three-putted on the 13th the Swede moved three holes ahead. After losing the 15th and the 17th with bogeys the 17-year-old recovered with a strong birdie on the 18th hole to close out the morning session two holes ahead of the Irishman.
The tables began to turn after lunch as Lester found his form. After falling three holes behind on the 19th hole, he edged out the Swede with a bogey on the 22nd to cut the lead to two and then posted a string of steady pars. When Bergqvist couldn’t hole a 15-foot chip to save par on the 25th hole, the match returned to all square for the first time since the morning’s third hole.
On the 28th hole, Lester made a brilliant up-and-down from the rough that saw him tap-in for a bogey. Bergqvist lipped out his six-foot uphill putt for his second double bogey of the afternoon to lose the hole and give Lester the lead for the first time in the Final. Bergqvist bounced back on the next hole to take the match back to all square but on the 30th hole Lester chipped to three feet to re-take the lead. Bergqvist recovered once again to win the next hole.
The turning point in the match came on the par-4 35th hole when Bergqvist played three excellent shots for birdie and Lester laid up to avoid the cavernous Sahara bunker on Prestwick’s famous 17th hole before missing his putt to save par. With Bergqvist one ahead Lester was unable to find the birdie he needed on the last hole to keep the match alive and the Swede closed out the match as the 2014 champion.
Bergqvist, who finished tied for ninth place in last week’s European Amateur Championship at the Duke’s Course near St Andrews, followed in the footsteps of players such as José María Olazábal and Sergio Garcia in winning the Boys Amateur Championship and has earned a place in the 2015 Amateur Championship at Carnoustie.
The Peter Garner Bowl, which is awarded to the player in the under-17 age group that progresses furthest in the Championship, was awarded to Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan who reached the Quarter Finals.
The 2015 Boys Amateur Championship will be played from 11-16 August at Royal Birkdale and Southport & Ainsdale.
For the full scoring details from the Final visit Championships.Randa.Org.