MARLBOROUGH golfer Ben Amor swept round the Hotchkin course at Woodhall Spa in seven-under par over 36 holes to become the English men’s county champion of champions yesterday.

He adds his name to a trophy which has previously been won by Lee Westwood and Nick Faldo and said: “To win means a lot.”

The 21-year-old dropped only one shot all day – on the short fifth in his morning round – and he finished three clear of Kent’s Dan Brown. Yorkshire’s Ben Hutchinson also beat par, scoring two-under to take third place.

“It’s nice for the hard work to pay off,” said Amor. “This has been a bit of a tough year and I’ve under-achieved on my expectations. But I’ve put in the hard work and you reap the rewards eventually, today was my day, I guess.”

For much of the day Amor and Brown were locked in a neck-and-neck battle. They both went round in four-under 69 this morning; Brown got ahead over the early holes this afternoon but Amor caught him with an eagle three on the sixth. Amor moved ahead on the ninth; Brown caught him on the 11th.

But the crunch came down the closing holes. Amor relentlessly parred every one, demonstrating a sure touch with his short game whenever he looked like faltering, but Brown (Chart Hills) had three bogeys in the last six.

“I knew I had to post a number this afternoon and I couldn’t believe how close Dan was to me. When I made eagle I thought I would pull clear, but next time I looked at the leaderboard he was right next to me.

“I like head-to-head stuff,” said Amor, who overcame any nerves by sticking to his routines.

“I’ve been working hard on them and that was possibly the biggest thing. When I was really under pressure and need to hit a shot my routine stayed constant and sound.”

Amor has been an England squad player and is a past winner of the English U18 boys’ Carris Trophy – and his next target is European Tour qualifying.

“This is a big boost, playing well on a really good golf course where you have to drive it well,” he added.

It was one of four champion of champions' tournaments played over the weekend, also involving men, women, girls and senior men.

Ogbourne Downs' youngster Jake Bolton shot a closing three-under-par 70 to finish in third place in the English Boys’ County Champion of Champions tournament.

Bolton staged the comeback of the day, scoring three-under 70 to improve on his first round by 10 shots and take third. 

“This morning I missed fairways and didn’t hole any putts,'' he said.

"This afternoon I was a little bit more aggressive, but not overly, and I knew that if I shot three or four under I would move into the top five.” 

Bolton and Danny Daniels (Essendon) who finished sixth are among four players flying off today to represent England in the Canadian International Junior Challenge.