Tournament Newsroom
Ellis battles back to gain one shot interval lead
Despite trailing for most of the morning round, Harry Ellis went into lunch 1-up against Henry Tomlinson after the opening session of the 36-hole English Amateur Championship final, supported by abacus, at a storm-threatened Silloth-on-Solway.
Both players seem understandably nervous on the opening holes and Tomlinson went ahead on the first when Ellis three-putted, missing a short putt for a half.
Although he won the third when Tomlinson bogeyed, the Lancastrian went in front again at four when Ellis lost his ball off the tee.
With Ellis not finding the green with his approach play, Tomlinson went further in front on the short sixth with a par after Ellis chipped from a mound and two putted.
Tomlinson conceded the seventh after failing to get up-and-down from rough short of the green but a birdie-two at the ninth saw Tomlinson 2-up again.
Despite Ellis having chances, the lead stayed the same to the long 13th where Tomlinson again failed to get up-and-down, an Ellis par proving enough and although Ellis missed a great opportunity at the par-five 14th, when he missed from two feet for par.
However, that signalled the start of the Ellis recovery and under several claps of thunder they played out the remaining holes. Fortunately, the storm moved out to sea along with Tomlinson’s supremacy.
Ellis then turned a one-hole deficit into a one-hole lead through 15 and 16. At 15, a solid par put Ellis back level after Tomlinson missed the green left and again failed to get-up-and-down, then at the 16th Ellis demonstrated his undoubted skills.
Driving into a greenside pot bunker at the 200-yard hole, he splashed out stone dead while Tomlinson again failed to match par after his tee shot rolled back off the elevated green.
They halved 17 from around 35 feet then at the last, despite being bunkered off the tee and with no chance of reaching the green, Ellis looked like losing his advantage with Tomlinson holing out for par.
But the Hampshire 16 year old found the green in three then holed his 18-foot par putt to keep his slender lead.
