Englishman Joe Long defeated good friend Joe Harvey in the final of the Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Long recorded a 4&3 victory in the 36-hole final to become the first Englishman since Harry Ellis in 2017 to win the coveted prize, in the first all-England final of the century.
The pair qualified for the match play phase following rounds of 74 and edged out stiff competition along the way. Long took down Frederik Birkelund, Josh Hill, Olly Huggins, Barclay Brown and Jake Bolton to reach the final while Harvey enjoyed victories against Stuart Easton, Arron Edwards-Hill, Habebul Islam, Victor Svendsen and Mark Power.
It was Long that got off to a fast start in the final, a birdie at the fifth earning him the early lead before a bogey at the seventh was enough for Harvey to level. Long then won three of the next four holes before Harvey mounted a comeback with wins at 15 and 16, only for Long’s birdie at 17 to secure a two-up lead going into the afternoon.
It was a nervy start to the second round with both players struggling over the opening holes. Long opened with three bogeys in the opening five holes and his lead was cut to one. He would go on to birdie six and seven to restore his three-hole lead before showing his composure by putting together a string of five consecutive pars and tighten his grip.
When both players birdied the 15th, Harvey had run out of holes as Long completed a 4&3 victory having never been behind in the match.
In winning, Long secures a place in the Open Championship at Royal St. George's, plus the Masters and US Open before then - all conditional on retaining amateur status.
Speaking immediately after the round, Long said: "Wow. It still hasn’t hit me. It’s going to be incredible. I played Royal St. George’s four years ago in the South East Links and I remember it being a tough track. It’s going to be awesome and I’m going to enjoy the experience of playing in the Open. It’s going to be huge."
Reflecting on his victory over an opponent who has so often been a team-mate, Long added: "It’s really good and hard at the same time because he is a really good mate. When I win, it’s hard to see him lose but it is all part of the sport we play. The match was played in great spirit and we really enjoyed it out there."
