Poppleton holds nerve to defeat top qualifier in English amateur championship

He is one of four Yorkshire players to progress to the second day of match play along with defending champion Dan Brown (Masham), Malton & Norton’s David Hague and Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick.

But five went out, among them Lindrick’s Nathan Fell, who was beaten by Sheffield Union club-mate Fitzpatrick 5&4 in the first round.

Fitzpatrick had to battle back from one down with three to play to defeat Exeter’s Harrison Greenbury one up in the Yorkshire Boys’ champion’s second match of the day.

However, Yorkshire champion Ben Hutchinson (Howley Hall), Lindrick’s Bailey Gill, Leeds Golf Centre’s Ben Firth and Hallamshire’s Julian Wood had their hopes ended in round two.

Lee Westwood Trophy holder Poppleton was three ahead at one stage in his match and still two in front with four to play.

But Langley, who had shot a 10-under-par 61 in the first round of stroke play qualifying on Tuesday, birdied 15 and 17 to take Poppleton down the last with the match all square.

“I probably should have finished him off earlier and never did and then before I knew it, he’d got a couple back and we were all square on the last,” said Poppleton.

He had to focus on the shot at hand rather than rue what had gone before and gave credit to his caddie Alex Stubbs for his calming influence as he took the last hole in dramatic fashion to win one up.

“You try to just get involved in the shot and not in the situation,” he said. “I had Alex, a good friend, caddying for me and that really helped because he kept me focused. He said, ‘Just hit the golf shot you’ve picked and you’ll be fine. What’s happening is happening; if you put a good swing on it, you’ll hit a good shot’.”

It proved sound advice and Poppleton followed it to the letter to earn a place in the third round.

“Alex also played in qualifying, but got the worst of conditions and didn’t make it through,” continued Poppleton. “The deal was whoever went the longest caddied – so he’s not very happy!

“We know each other from tournaments in the past; he came to stay with me for the Westwood last year and he’ll be coming back up (for this year’s), and I stayed with him a couple of years ago for the Berkshire (Trophy).”

Poppleton shot a five-under-par 67 in the first round of qualifying and gave himself enough breathing space not to be put under pressure when Wednesday’s appalling weather set in.

“The 67 was nice, but Wednesday was a bit iffy,” he said. “I knew what I had to do, but we had the worst of the weather. I knew I could chip it round and three over on the day would get me in. It was all about getting to the next stage.

“It was 30mph gusts – and it stopped raining for just one hole. It was coming sideways and it wasn’t pretty.”

Poppleton appeared to have the hardest match on paper of all nine Yorkshire players who reached the match play section of the event.

But he accepted the task of tangling with Langley, who finished 14 under overall in qualifying, with a positive attitude, helped by the fact they are good friends.

“It was a clean slate, even David said that,” said Poppleton. “You just go again and deal with what you’ve got.

“We’ve known each other a couple of years and we’ve stayed together at the British Amateur so I knew it wasn’t going to be a match where we would be at each other’s throats. I knew it was going to be a relaxed atmosphere.”

His reward is a tie with Rochford Hundred’s Jack Dyer, and for the second morning in succession he will be in the first match off.

Brown plays fellow England player Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park), Hague is up against Aaron Siddell (Castle Royle) and Fitzpatrick faces Conor White (Bridgnorth).

Brown eased through his game 5&4 with a solid display of sub-par golf.

“I hit a lot of fairways and greens and applied a bit of pressure,” remarked the defending champion who is hoping to catch the eye of the Walker Cup selectors both this week and next, in the Dutch amateur. “I think I’m in the running, but you never know,” he said.

Another win would boost his chances and he added: “I’ve played good this year, but I just haven’t had a win. Every time I’ve played I’ve gone out to win, but it just hasn’t happened.”

Lytham Trophy winner and England international, Jack Singh Brar (Remedy Oak) went down by two holes to Harry Bayley, of Chartham Park, who is playing in the championship for the first time and got in off the reserve list.