England Boy international Charlie Strickland is the hot player of the moment after securing two big wins in the space of just four days.
The 17 year old from Ham Manor in Sussex won the Duncan Putter in Wales over the weekend of April 8-9 and followed up with a three-shot victory in the Peter McEvoy Trophy at Copt Heath (April 12-13), where he was eight under par.
They’re his first major successes, and they mark a complete turnaround in form. “I went to the Portuguese and Spanish championships, missed both cuts, and lost a lot of confidence,” said Strickland, as he recalled his start to the season. “So I went back to my coach and restarted everything.”
He put special effort into his short game, and began to reap the rewards when he came second in the Darwin Salver at Rye three weeks ago.
“I got the ball rolling at the Darwin, and then finally it happened and I’ve won twice in a row. It’s just the best feeling,” added Strickland, who was delighted that his father, John, was there to see both wins.
In the Duncan Putter at Southerndown, Strickland left the field trailing. He was under par in each of the four rounds, finished on six under – and was six shots ahead of the joint runners up, England A squad player Josh McMahon (Wallasey) and Ben Chamberlain of Wales.
Moving on to the McEvoy, the first two rounds were played in cold and windy weather and his aim was to stay in touch and give himself every chance as the conditions improved. He was level par after 36 holes, with scores of 70, 72.
In the third round he signed for a 68, helped by an eagle three on the 15th, where he holed a long putt from the front edge of the green. It left him one shot behind the joint leaders, but he overtook them in the final round when he shot a six-under-par 66.
“I was trying to keep my score around two or three under, but then I realised that wasn’t going to be good enough,” said Strickland, who was a member of England’s winning team at last year’s boys’ Home Internationals. “I decided to attack and birdied the 15th, which was a massive break. Then I birdied 17 and 18, which was an absolute bonus. It was just nice to see the putts go in.”
The runner-up on five under was Jannik de Bruyn of Germany, while Carris Trophy winner Angus Flanagan (St George’s Hill) was third on four under.