Shinkwin blows away the field at the Carris

Callum Shinkwin produced two sensational rounds of golf over the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa to win the English Boys under 18 Stroke Play Championship for the Carris Trophy, supported by Titleist, by a street.

A closing round of 68, which followed a morning 67, left him on 281, 11 under par, and seven shots ahead of his nearest challengers, Harry Casey and Paul Lockwood.

Appropriately, Shinkwin, from the Moor Park club, the traditional home of the Carris Trophy, is the third Hertfordshire player to win the title in the past six years and succeeds Tom Lewis as champion.

“Winning this championship means a lot to me,” said Shinkwin. “I’ve been trying to show I can play in the bigger tournaments. Now I’ve won one.”

So what was Shinkwin’s secret? “I don’t have a clue but it all came together for me,” he added. “But I just hit the ball well and putted well. I just went out and played and I only went in one bunker all day and I got up-and-down from that.”

Although Shinkwin has not hit the heights until now, he has enjoyed success in what has been his emerging season.  He finished fifth in the McEvoy Trophy, was runner-up in the Hertfordshire Championship and made the cut in the Brabazon Trophy. “I’ve just played steadily and I’ve only missed one cut,” he admitted.

He now adds his name to an illustrious list of former winners such as Sandy Lyle, Peter Baker, Justin Rose and Ken Brown, another Hertfordshire winner back in 1974. “I’d like to be as successful as they have been,” Shinkwin added.

On a day that began bright, brought some rain and produced lightning which forced a 25 minute stoppage of play, Shinkwin’s statistics are worth considering.  He was 11 under par for 36 holes, found 14 birdies, nine in round three, his final round was bogey-free and he also had an air shot when he flicked his putter at a one inch putt – and missed.

“That was on the 17th this morning when I missed from six feet and then failed to connect with the ball lying on the lip,” he admitted.

Casey put himself in the frame with a bogey-free morning return of 68 but he couldn’t keep pace with Shinkwin and a closing 72 left him sharing second spot with Yorkshire’s Lockwood, who was the other player to fire two sub-par rounds with 72 and 71.

For Full results click here.