POPS WINS THE WESTWOOD

Sheffield Union player Nick Poppleton came good at Rotherham Golf Club lifting the Lee Westwood Trophy in style.

Poppleton, (pictured below with Lee's mum Trish) from the nearby Wath Golf Club, triumphed by four shots over runners up Ben Hutchinson of Howley Hall and Todd Clements of Braintree with an assured performance and a total of 271 over 72 holes that included a second round of 7-under 63.

With Masters Champion Danny Willett looking on at his home club Poppleton held his nerve in the final round, playing safe yet consistent golf, and never flinched as he approached the final hole.

Hutchinson may have been ruing his bogey at the last hole, where he missed a short putt after recovering well from a tee shot into the right rough, but it did not matter. Poppleton showed commendable composure coming down the stretch with a par on the tricky 15th, a birdie at the next, before lipping out on the 17th for a straight-forward par and finally dropping a shot on the last when the tournament victory was already assured.

He said: “I played steadily all week, hitting the ball well and the putter came good on the second round.

“It was then trying to keep calm, playing well, not getting ahead of myself and getting over the line. I was really enjoying myself out there and I’m delighted.”

Victory over his friend Hutchinson came with some satisfaction following the pair’s tussle in the Yorkshire Championship at Moortown last week where

Hutchinson came from three shots behind to win by one shot over Poppleton and Shipley’s Will Whiteoak.

The Lee Westwood Trophy is firmly cemented as one of England’s top amateur events. This year it attracted a full field of 141 players from around the UK and abroad including Keegan De Lange who made history last year when he became the first South African junior to reach the final of the British Boys’ Amateur Championship.

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