Cornwall’s Stephen Jensen completed a second victory in three years at the English Senior Men’s Amateur courtesy of a sensational fight back on the closing nine.
The 58-year-old who plays out of Trevose Golf and Country Club in Padstow appeared on the brink of heavy defeat to opponent Steve Sansome (Birstall GC) as they headed toward the par-3 10th green at Brancepeth Castle Golf Club in County Durham.
Sansome was 4-up and had 20 feet for birdie, and Jensen’s tee shot had ricocheted off a mound and very nearly found out of bounds. The eventual winner conceded afterwards that he had made the journey to the green in a despondent mood, only to be encouraged to keep fighting by his wife.
Within minutes the entire complexion of the final had been transformed. Jensen completed an up-and-down to secure par, and Sansome contrived to lose the hole with a three-putt.
Instead of falling 5-down, Jensen was now only three holes in arrears. On the next hole, Sansome missed a short putt to see his advantage further diminish.
The tide had turned. Even when Sansome carded a birdie at the par-5 12th, Jensen bettered him with an eagle 3. When the leader failed to save par from off the green at 14, the match was all-square, and it remained that way as the pair headed down 18.
Jensen’s excellent approach set up a tap-in birdie, and Sansome’s 15-foot par-breaking attempt lipped out to seal the triumph.
“The momentum changed,” Jensen said afterwards. “With that, mindset changes, and that’s exactly what happened today. Steve is a great player. Coming up 18, he put me under pressure with a fantastic drive, but I had 82 yards in and it ran up to 5 inches for a stress-free birdie.
“I’m delighted to be the English champion once again. It’s always an honour to be a national champion. It’s what we all strive for, and I’ve been very fortunate to win it twice in the last three years. I’ll be trying very hard to make it three in four next year.”
RESULTS
Matt Cooper