Kent Golf Limited
Kent Men's Amateur Championship day 3 report
Date published: 5 Jun 2023
A bright, clear day greeted the four remaining players in this year’s Kent Men’s Amateur Championship but there was still a stiff wind blowing across the links to be negotiated. Bathed in the early morning sunshine, Royal St. George’s looked truly magnificent.
The first semi-final between Tom Sherreard (Kings Hill) and Liam Burns (Chislehurst) was – as might be expected - a nip-and-tuck affair. All square after four, Tom won the fifth to take an early lead. He doubled this to be two-up after seven, only for Liam to win the eighth with a birdie and peg him back. Liam then kept the momentum going to make it all square after 12. A birdie from Tom at 13 saw him nudge ahead again and the 14th was halved in further birdies. Liam sneaked the 15th with a par to level the game and the short 16th was halved with 3s to set up an exciting finish. With both players facing makeable birdie putts on 17, it was Liam to putt first. His attempt just slid by leaving the door open for Tom to capitalise – which he duly did, giving himself a vital one-hole lead going up the last. Alas, for Liam, he couldn’t find the birdie he required to take the match into extra holes and top seed, Tom, progressed to the final.
In the second semi-final, Oliver Lewis-Perkins (Mid-Kent) nosed in front after three holes and doubled his lead to two-up after six, a lead he kept until Danny Jones (Wildernesse) won the ninth to reduce the deficit to one. Oliver then won ten with a par and eleven with a birdie to take a three-up lead with seven to play. But Danny had other ideas and his putter, which had been somewhat cold on the front nine, began to behave and he won the next four holes two with birdies – to turn the game. Sixteen was halved with pars and Danny then proceeded to birdie 17 to win the match 2&1. A tremendous effort, especially considering he only just qualified on the cut mark on Friday by dint of an excellent afternoon round. Even the bountiful Royal St. George’s lunch couldn’t slow Danny down and he came straight out of the blocks in the final, rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the first to take the early lead. Another birdie on the par three third put him two-up and the next two holes were halved in par. Tom looked poised to get one back on the short sixth but a brilliant sand save from Danny denied him. Danny’s putter struck again on the eighth as he holed from over 20 feet for birdie, only to see Tom hole from a similar distance on the ninth for a birdie of his own to reduce the deficit to two at the turn. Danny parred the next three holes and found himself three up with six to play but then lost the 13th to a par from Tom. Both players birdied the par five fourteenth for a half and continued to match each other on both 15 and 16; two-up to Danny with two to play. With Tom surely needing a birdie on 17 to prolong the match, he gave it his all, but his par would not be good enough as Danny kept his nerve to make a par of his own and close out the match and championship 2&1.
Tom and Danny should be commended for the terrific spirit in which the match was played and for their swift pace of play. Worthy finalists both, and in Danny Jones, Kent has a thoroughly deserving county champion.
County Champion – Danny Jones (Wildernesse)
Runner-up – Tom Sherreard (Kings Hill)
Semi-finalists – Liam Burns (Chislehurst) and Oliver Lewis-Perkins (Mid-Kent)
Scratch Cup – Tom Sherreard (Kings Hill)
Astor Cup (best nett) – Jake Potter (Chelsfield Lakes)
Simpson Cup (best gross under 25 years of age) – Oliver Lewis-Perkins (Mid-Kent)
Team Competition – Kings Hill (Tom Sherreard, Jacob Kelso, Abe Bignell)
Left: Kent Men's Amateur Champion 2023 Danny Jones from Wildernesse with County President Jim Pocknell
Right: Champion Danny Jones (Wildernesse) on the right with runner-up Tom Sherreard (Kings Hill) on the left
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