Ederö to face Gueant for Boys' Amateur as Kennedy exits in quarters
Tom Gueant of France books his spot in the Final of the of the Boys’ Amateur Championship at Saunton. Credit The R&A/Getty Images
Wilmer Ederö of Sweden and Tom Gueant of France will go head to head in the Final of the 93rd Boys’ Amateur Championship at Saunton today
Ederö booked his place in the Final thanks to a 5&4 victory over Italy’s Matteo Cristoni in the Semi-Final. Earlier, he knocked out England’s Jacob Kelson with a 2&1 win in the Quarter-Final.
Cristoni ended the hopes of Royal Dublin’s Max Kennedy, racing three up after four holes before sealing a 2&1 win against the Irish Boys international who showed he’s a hugely promising star of the future for Irish golf.
Nerves at the start of his match saw Ederö down by two after two holes but mistakes from his Italian competitor, who recorded bogeys on the par four3rd and par three 5th, had the match back to all square. A birdie at the par four 6th hole gave Ederö the lead and he went on to control the match claiming a convincing win on the 14th hole.
The 15-year-old, who is playing outside of Sweden for just the third time, is now looking to claim the title on his R&A Boys’ Championship debut.
Gueant battled his way into the Final after being taken to the 21st hole in his Quarter-Final against England’s George Holland where he eventually advanced with a par.
A short turnaround saw Gueant back on course this time facing another Englishman, Barclay Brown in the Semi-Final.Ed
In an even match-up the game was all square until Brown took the advantage on the 4th hole after Gueant made a bogey on the par four. The Englishman quickly gave up the lead, however, with a bogey of his own on the par-3 5th hole.
Gueant looked to have a handle on the match and was two ahead after 11 holes before Brown started to mount a charge making a birdie on the par four 12th hole. It was short lived with Brown losing the 14th hole to the Frenchman with a bogey before a birdie on the par-5 15th took the deficit back to one hole.
Gueant recorded a 2&1 win after he made par on the 17th hole and Brown made a further bogey.
Like Ederö, Gueant is competing in the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship for the first time and will now play the Swede in the 36-hole Final tomorrow which gets underway at 8.30am.
Wilmer Ederö of Sweden will play in the Final of the Boys’ Amateur Championship at Saunton. Credit The R&A/Getty Images
Key quotes:
Wilmer Ederö, Sweden
“It is amazing to play my first Boys’ Championship and it feels amazing to be through to the Final.
“On the first tee I am always nervous but then on the 3rd hole I relaxed and carried on.
“I was two down after two holes so it was tough but I took hole three and moved on. I made some birdies and pars and he missed the fairway a few times.
“I hit some good iron shots and hit the green. There are a lot of tough par fours so you must be good with your irons.
“My dad is my coach. I spoke with him before my rounds. He pepped me up and told me that I was good for my matches.
“Tomorrow will be my first final here. I am just 15 so I am going to be nervous but I like it.
Tom Gueant, France
“The first match (against George Holland) I finished at the 21st hole with a good four metre putt that I holed. It was a long match; we both parred a lot of holes.
“This afternoon was a good match (against Barclay Brown), I was playing well at the start but it was tight at the end. Barclay made birdies on 12 and 15 but I made a lot of pars on holes where he was struggling a bit more than me.
“My putting was not so good this afternoon but I still managed to hole some clutch putts at important times. Like we both parred the first hole by holing six and seven metre putts.
“I am confident and happy to be in the Final, it will be a great day. But I will have to see what happens tomorrow.”
For full results and scoring visit www.Randa.org. Admission and parking at Saunton is free.
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