Matty holds his nerve to take title
Published at 09:04, Monday, 16 July 2012
HEXHAM’S rising golfing sensation Matty Lamb has added another prestigious trophy to his bedside cabinet as he clinched his first national title.
The Queen Elizabeth High School pupil shot his way to the Scottish U14 Championship at Buchanan Castle, to keep the accolades coming in a fruitful 2012.
Earlier this season, he set a new record by becoming the first player to win both the Northumberland Schools U16 and U19 titles in the same year – despite being just 14-years-old!
His win in the Scottish national championship was a close run affair, and he pipped his nearest rival in a dramatic finale.
Lamb mistakenly thought he was just narrowly ahead of the international field when he came to the 36th, and final, hole, and started to panic when he lost his ball into thick rough off the tee!
Despite his closest rival, Italian Teodoro Soldati, chipping in from 20 yards for birdie, Lamb did not let the pressure get to him.
He calmly sank a 12-foot putt with a tricky little left to right turn at the end to bogey the hole and win by two shots. Overall, Lamb carded a one-under 69 followed by a 72 on a tricky course in a rain lashed event, which brought a delay of one hour and 40 minutes midway through his first round.
The success makes Lamb the second winner from Tynedale of the impressive event now in its 13th year, following Prudhoe Golf Club’s Danny Shevill’s victory back in 2003.
Taking in the triumph was Kevin Cademy-Taylor, a former Northumberland captain and now the Scottish Golf Performance Development Manager. He said: “Matty is so talented and he has been on everybody’s radar for a long time. He is a real talent and a genuinely exciting prospect to become a top player of the future.”
Lamb has praised the camaraderie at his home club of Hexham for helping him grow in confidence and stature, with the likes of Ian Paxton, Sean Heads, Martin Coup and Andy Crawford coming in for special mention.
At England Golf age-group level, he’s had help from regional names JJ Vallely and Bryan Ross, while a large portion of gratitude was reserved for his personal mentor, Hexham’s head professional Andy Paisley.
Lamb said: “Andy is a disciplined sort of guy who is very cool calm and collected. His influence is the sort of thing which helps me keep my composure at times, such as when I was standing on the tee at the last after hitting it in the rough.”
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk
More sport
More news
Quick links
