LEADING qualifier Connor McKinney made it through to Friday’s second round of matchplay at the 93rd Boys’ Amateur Championship, at Saunton.

McKinney, the Australian-based Scot, defeated Worthing Golf Club’s Billy Groom 6&4, on the North Devon links.

It was a convincing victory for McKinney, who said it was important to limit mistakes in windy conditions, with birdie opportunities hard to come by on the East Course.

McKinney said: “A 6&4 win is generally good for the confidence so I am looking forward to the next round.

“With this wind you can’t go for too much or miss in the wrong spots so it was a case of hitting into the middle of the greens or even away from flags because the wind was so strong.

“I wasn’t really aggressive today, but I also wasn’t defensive. I only had two birdies and a bogey out there.

“It was just one of those days where there wasn’t a lot of birdies out there and if you made a lot of pars you were going to be close.”

The 17-year-old will now play Southport & Ainsdale’s Matthew Jackman, who claimed a win over Frenchman Charles Larcelet.

Jackman, who was down by three with five holes to play, fought back to take the match to extra holes, eventually winning with a birdie on the 20th.

“I was three down with five to play,” said Jackman. “Before that I was just trying to stay in the match.

“But I started to come alive and wasn’t as scrappy. I fought hard on 17 and 18 to get it back to all-square after being dormie.

“We both parred the 19^th hole and then on the 20^th hole I ended up making a birdie with Charles making par. It was a big sigh of relief, I couldn’t believe it, I was buzzing.

“It happened to me last year too, I was four down through five in my first match and ended up winning on the last, so this does boost my confidence,” added the teenager from Lancashire.

“I have always had the fight in me so it should be a good match with Connor. I’ll try to play as I have done today, keep grinding away and not let Connor being the highest-ranked qualifier affect me.”

Wales’ Archie Davies, who was tied second in the strokeplay qualifying, reached the second round after forcing Spaniard Alvaro Morales Aparicio into extra holes.

The door opened for the Welsh Amateur Champion on the 18^th hole when his opponent missed a five-foot putt.

Davies, who plays out of Carlisle GC, then went on to make a birdie on the 20^th hole to seal the win.

He will play Ireland’s Sean Doyle after he also required 20 holes to defeat Spain’s Javier Neira Garcia.

Davies said: “It feels pretty good, it was hard fought. If I am honest, I thought it was game over on 18.

“My opponent had a five-footer to win and then he missed and I won on the 20^th, so it was awesome.

“I was pretty nervous on the last putt. I am pleased I got it over with. I always thought I had the edge but it was tricky.

“I think I still have that confidence from the Welsh Amateur win so I hope to keep it going. ”

Having elected to skip the US Amateur Championship to compete in his final R&A Boys Amateur Championship, Florida-based Joseph Pagdin was relieved to advance into the last 32.

After 18 holes the Lake Nona member, who is the highest-ranked player in the field, was all-square with Sweden’s Rasmus Hjelm.

Chipping out of the thick rough on the par-five second, the 20^th hole of the match, Pagdin made a clutch up-and-down birdie to keep his name in the hat.

The junior international will now play Surrey’s Harry Crockett, who defeated France’s Nathan Trey on the 19th hole.

Pagdin said: “It was a great battle with Rasmus we had four or five birdies throughout the round, he had one bogey.

“That was one of the toughest matches I have had in a long time.

“I got a bit lucky on the last, I was able to get free relief from an animal hole but I still made birdie.

“I am ranked 30^th on the WAGR so I was in the US Amateur. But I took the view that I was here playing the Boys’ Home Internationals for England – and I have been – playing great this summer in matchplay.

“I love this event, the way its run so I wanted to give it my last shot,” Pagdin added.

“I knew I had a good chance to go deep into this tournament and I am going to have many more years to play at the US Amateur.

“I just love coming back here and hopefully I can get it done.”

Frenchman Tom Gueant, who led qualifying after the first round, recorded a convincing 5&4 victory over Delamare Forest’s Oscar Doran.

After a challenging finish on Wednesday, where he dropped six shots in his closing seven holes,Gueant was determined to come out firing in his first round match.

He was five-up after six holes and never looked seriously threatened. Gueant will face Hanbury Manor’s South East Junior Champion Dominic Clemons, who advanced after defeating Italy’s Simone Armando Colozza 5&3.

Gueant said: “I played well on the first nine holes – my driver was still not very good, but I was putting well.

“I was five-up after six holes, right from the beginning I was winning holes and after that I just tried to keep control of myself and my game.

“When the day has been bad, like yesterday, and you have those thoughts in your mind you want to release all of that, and then today it was great.”

Doran’s clubmate James Ashfield fared better winning 6&5 against Czech teenager Krystof Strycek, with Cheshire’s Delamare Forest one of two clubs to have two qualifers in the last 64 – the other was Southport & Ainsdale.

The latter’s George Holland beat Scotland’s Ruben Lindsay to join Jackman in the last 32.

•To follow scores in Friday’s third and fourth rounds click here

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Stoke Park Conor Gough is the youngest member of the GB&I Walker Cup squad named this week. Picture courtesy The R&A

STOKE Park’s reigning British Amateur champion Conor Gough heads a strong contingent of 12 players from England included in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup squad, named today.

The R&A has announced an initial squad of 26 players who are in contention for selection for the GB&I team to play against the United States of America in the 47^th Walker Cup match at Royal Liverpool, in September.

Sixteen-year-old Gough, who made his Home Internationals debut for England at men’s level last summer is the youngest in the squad in which only nine are aged over 21.

The host nations are aiming to win back the trophy after losing 19-7 at the Los Angeles Country Club two years ago – when there were three Hampshire players in the team.

Captain Craig Watson said, “We have selected a talented group of players who are all in contention for a place in the team to play the United States of America, and will be continuing to monitor the form and results of these players over the course of the season.

“We will also be looking closely at the performances of other players who have not been included in the squad and there is still time for them to play their way into our plans ahead of the final team selection later this year.”

Somerset’s Tom Sloman, who won the 2019 Copa Sotagrande recently, and Dorset’s SANLAM Cape Province Open champion, Thomas Plumb, also feature in a group of 12 English players.

Gough is the same age Hampshire’s Justin Rose was when he became the youngest to be picked to play in the biennial clash which is the amateur game’s equivalent to the Ryder Cup, back in 1997.

Rose had just turned 17 by the time he appeared at Pine Ridge and Essex’s Oliver Fisher broke that record in Chicago in 2005.

Gough is bidding to become the first B.B.&O. player to be picked for the Walker Cup since Luke Donald, who was on the winning team at Nairn in 1999, and again at Sea Island, in Georgia, when Peter McEvoy led GB&I to back-to-back victories for the first time, and won on US soil for only the second time since 1922.

Also in the squad is Sussex’s English Amateur Champion Tom Thurloway (Chartham Park) and Devon’s Jake Burnage, who made a late bid for selection in 2017.

Six players from Scotland have been chosen, including 2019 African Amateur champion, Euan Walker and reigning Scottish Amateur champion, Euan McIntosh, who is the oldest member at 50.

Sandy Scott, who won the El Macero Classic earlier this month, Royal Wimbledon’s Marquette Intercollegiate champion Ryan Lumsden, Kieran Cantley and Jamie Stewart are also in Watson’s plans.

Conor Purcell, who won the 2019 Australian Amateur Championship, is among five players from Ireland to feature in Watson’s squad.

He is joined by 2019 West of Ireland Amateur champion Caolan Rafferty, 2018 Eisenhower Trophy player John Murphy, Mark Power and James Sugrue.

Irish Boys Amateur champion Archie Davies, who hails from Carlisle and is only 17, Ben Chamberlain and Jake Hapgood are the three players from Wales.

There are four players under the age of 18 – the other two are Peterborough Milton’s Robin Williams and Sheffield’s Joseph Pagdin, who is based at Florida’s Lake Nona, and has signed to play for University of Florida, from 2020.

Northamptonshire County’s Benjamin Jones, Pagdin, Williams, Plumb, Gough, and Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick – the younger brother of Ryder Cup player Matt, who played in the 2013 Walker Cup, were all members of the England Boys team that won the 2017 Home Internationals at St Anne’s Old Links.

The GB&I Walker Cup squad will gather at Royal Liverpool for a practice session next week, ahead of the Lytham Trophy, after which the number of players will be reduced for a second practice session in July.

As well as the Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham (May 3-5), and the Brabazon Trophy, at Alwoodley, at end of May, the selectors will be watching events during the St Andrews Links at the Home of Golf in early June – the UK’s other major 72-hole strokeplay championship, which attracts an international field.

The final 10-man GB&I team will be announced in August after the Home Nations hold their respective amateur championships in the first week of the month.

The English Amateur (July 30-August 4) is being held at Hankley Common, in Surrey, with qualifying being jointly held at North Hants GC, while the Scottish event is at Crail in the same week.

The Welsh championship is being held at Tenby, from July 29-August 2, while the Irish Amateur Championship is being staged at Ballybunion, from August 3-7.

The full squad is (England players in bold):

Jake Burnage, 23, Saunton
John Murphy, 20, Kinsale
Kieran Cantley, 21, Liberton
Joseph Pagdin, 17, Lake Nona
Ben Chamberlain, 21, Padeswood & Buckley
Thomas Plumb, 20, Yeovil
Archie Davies, 17, Carlisle
Mark Power, 18, Kilkenny
Alex Fitzpatrick, 20, Hallamshire
Conor Purcell, 21, Portmarnock
Bailey Gill, 21, Lindrick
Caolan Rafferty, 26, Dundalk
Conor Gough, 16, Stoke Park
Sandy Scott, 20, Nairn
David Hague, 22, Malton & Norton
Tom Sloman, 22, Taunton & Pickeridge
Harry Hall, 21, West Cornwall
Jamie Stewart, 19, Old Course Ranfurly
Jake Hapgood, 22, Southerndown
James Sugrue, 22, Mallow
Benjamin Jones, 19, Northamptonshire County
Tom Thurloway, 21, Chartham Park.
Ryan Lumsden, 22, Royal Wimbledon
Euan Walker, 23, Kilmarnock (Barassie)
Euan McIntosh, 50, Turnhouse
Robin Williams, 17, Peterborough Milton

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