Golf news
Allan exceeds expectations at Magnolia Park
James Allan produced a stellar second round show to take his first professional victory at the Jamega Pro Golf Tour event at Magnolia Park in Buckinghamshire.
The 21-year-old from Chelmsford only relinquished amateur status at the end of March and struck eight birdies in an unblemished 65 – three shots better than any other round in the tournament – to win by four strokes from last week’s Jamega champion at Gatton Manor, Liam Crawford.
Surrey’s Crawford and Michael Joy, from Hazelmere Gold Club, were the overnight leaders after two-under-par rounds of 71 before conditions eased for day two and Allan took charge.
“It was my lowest-ever competitive round, which was quite cool,” Allan said. “I didn’t pay much attention to the leaderboard and thought it was a lot closer than it was.”
Allan has played as an amateur on the MENA Tour for the past two seasons and shot to prominence after briefly leading the Dubai Desert Classic in February. It was eventually won by now-Masters champion Danny Willett, with Allan finishing tied for 45th.
“I won the MENA amateur order of merit last year, which meant that I got the invitation for Dubai,” he said. “It was a hugely valuable experience for me and I had more media attention than I’d ever experienced.”
Allan started playing competitively aged eight, represented England in the Nations Cup as an amateur and was second in the England Men’s order of merit last year. He’s also had mentoring from England’s World Cup-winning rugby coach Clive Woodward.
Magnolia Park was his fourth event on the Jamega Tour, following two fifth-place finishes at Gatton Manor and Lingfield Park. “I had a good game-plan and despite the windy conditions I stuck to it,” he said. “During the first round, I took note of where the pins would be for the next day, and where I needed to be on the fairways, and plotted my way around the course to make it as easy as I could.”
Signed to the Wasserman Group, he has already played on the Challenge Tour and one European Tour event, the Lyoness Open, in Austria. “Despite results not going how I wanted, I feel I’ve picked up stuff that will help me in the long run,” Allan added.
Final Leaderboard
1st James Allan -8 138 (73, 65)
2nd Liam Crawford -4 142 (71, 71)
3rd = -1 145
Tom Speyer (76, 69)
Ben Loughrey (74, 71)
Craig Ainsley (72, 73)
Tom Whitehouse (72, 73)
Jamie Dick (74, 71)
8th Marcus Mohr Level 146 (77, 69)
9th= +1 147
Tyler Hogarty (75, 72)
Matt Mumford (74, 73)
Hugo Dobson (74, 73)
Season to date
April 11-12 Ashburnham, Richard Bentham -9
April 19-20 Dummer, Jamie Moul -11
April 25-26 Machynys, Rhys Pugh -7
May 3-4 Essendon George Mullins -4
May 9-10 Magnolia Park Mark Laskey -10
May 16-17 Ascot Park, George Mullins -9
May 23-24 Weybrook Park, Tyler Hogarty -4
May 30-31 Isle of Purbeck, Jamie Abbott -1
June 6-7 Luton Hoo, Henry Smart, -10
June 15-16 The Players Club, Jamie Abbott -7
June 27-28 Essendon, Tom Speyer -2
July 4-5 Leatherhead, Tom Hayward -9
July 11-12 The Wychwood, Ben Loughrey -4
July 20-21 Lingfield, Ryan Boyns -4
July 25-26 Gatton Park, Liam Crawford -6
August 1-2 Magnolia Park, James Allan -8
