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John Gough couldn’t let younger brother, Conor, get away with bragging rights in the Gough household. For two years he’d had to live with Conor’s triumph in the 2019 English Men’s Amateur Championship. Now John has his own name on the historic trophy.
John emulated his younger brother with a 1-up victory in the 36-hole final over Tom Addy at Moortown Golf Club. Kirsten Rudgeley needed 37 holes to defeat Bel Wardle in the women’s contest, which was also staged at Moortown.
Going by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Gough should have had no problem bettering Addy. Gough recently won the Palmetto Amateur by five shots, which partly explained why he turned up for the championship ranked 207th, 1,106 places above 1,313th-ranked Addy. Then there was the age difference: Gough is 22 while Addy is just 17.
Indeed, Gough signalled his intentions early when he won the opening hole. He went in to lunch with a three-hole advantage, and won the first two holes of the afternoon round to be five ahead. He was still five up through the opening five holes. It appeared the match would go the way many expected and be over long before the protagonists reached the 36th hole. However, Addy, who lives in Western Australia but whose parents are both English, won the sixth hole and then reeled off three wins in four holes from the 11th to reduce the deficit to just one.
Unfortunately, Addy couldn’t take the contest down the 37th hole, halving the next four holes with his elder opponent.
“It’s unbelievable to have it in our house for two years and it’s not the same person that’s won it."
John Gough
Gough joins a prestigious list of winners that not only includes his brother, but Tommy Fleetwood, Danny Willett, Paul Casey, Nick Faldo, Mark James and Michael Bonallack.
“I think Conor was happy for me to get it, but he was a bit sour that he hasn’t got this over me now,” said Gough, who just finished his fifth year at the University of Charlotte. “It’s unbelievable to have it in our house for two years and it’s not the same person that’s won it. I don’t know how many times that’s been done before.
“We’re very competitive – I suppose you could call that spurring each other on.
“It was stressful – what a great player I was up against. I knew it was never done having looked at Tom’s games the last few days and he’s a good golfer.
“If it wasn’t down to the game plan and sticking to it I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I split it into three-hole matches and that’s not something I’ve done before. I played it as little individual games.”
The ranking gap between Rudgeley and Wardle wasn’t as wide as that which separated Gough and Addy. There are just 84 places between 109th-ranked Rudgeley and world No. 193 Wardle. It perhaps explains why this contest was much tougher to call, and a more see-saw affair.
Rudgeley, who warmed up for the championship by winning the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open Championship at Royal Troon last month, held a four-hole lead after 14 holes of the morning round in the 36-hole final. However, that lead was just one hole by lunchtime. Wardle then won the first three holes after lunch to surge two holes ahead. She went three up after 12, and was two ahead with two to play. She looked odds on to add the English Amateur title to the English Stroke Play title she won in 2017.
That’s when Rudgeley hit high gear. She birdied the final two holes, and then birdied the 37th hole to win.
“It’s an awesome feeling to lift the trophy,” Rudgeley said. “The way I held myself together at the end there was good in a tough situation.
“I felt like I hit a lot of good putts today and some of them just weren’t quite falling in but I had a good thought that they would fall in towards the end of the match and fortunately they paid off.
“Even when I was three down and Bel was playing well, I just tried to stay positive and keep believing that it was anyone’s game to win. I started striking the ball better on the back nine and that helped my game a lot.”
The victory was all the sweeter for Rudgeley since her mother caddied for her the entire week.
“It’s fantastic to have Mum with me as I go round, she’s a great support for me,” Rudgeley said. “Dad rang me as soon as the match finished as well and I’m sure I’ll be getting messages from the family all night.”
They’re not the only family celebrating English Amateur success. The Gough family might be doing that for a long time.
Top: John Gough will have his name beside younger brother, Conor, on the English Men's Amateur trophy.
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