American wins British Amateur for first time since 1979
Lytham St. Annes, England - American Drew Weaver, a student from Virginia Tech University, nearly squandered a 6-up lead, but held on to defeat Australian Tim Stewart, 2 & 1, and win the British Amateur Championship.
Weaver became the first American since Jay Sigel in 1979 to win this title.
Weaver was 6-up with six to play, but Stewart fought back.
It was a Weaver bogey that lost him the 13th, then Stewart drained a 30-footer to win the 14th. Suddenly the margin was 4-up for Weaver, but he bogeyed 15 after a poor tee ball.
Stewart rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt at the 16th and now the deficit was cut to 2-down.
The improbable run ended when the pair halved the 17th.
‘At 6-up with six to play, I didn’t feel that my game had slipped, I was still controlling the match,’ said Weaver. ‘The 17th was by far the most intense hole I have ever played. When I saw his putt go by I said to myself ‘don’t let it slip away, don’t let it go to the 18th’. I got a good read on the putt and just concentrated on making a good stroke.’
‘I guess if you had told me at the beginning of the week that I would be runner-up I would have been delighted,’ said Stewart. ‘Some you win and some you don’t.’
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