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HomeGOLFIs Knole Park's Oliver Sly on his way to The Open?

Is Knole Park’s Oliver Sly on his way to The Open?

Oliver Sly from Knole Park Golf Club had a wonderful day at Wildernesse Golf Club on Monday with a round of 66, securing him second place in The Open Regional Qualifying event, the fifth occasion at the prestigious club.

In addition to this, Jensen Hull from Hever Castle tied for third place with a score of 68 along with Liam Burns from Chislehurst and Simon Khan, who won the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth in 2010.

Wildernesse Chairman, David Evans commented: “Wildernesse Golf Club is once again delighted to have successfully hosted its fifth Open Regional qualifying competition.”

He continued: “We are honoured to be one of only thirteen clubs in the UK and Ireland to host an event of this stature and we hope this will encourage more people to visit us and explore the wonderful course and facilities at Wildernesse.”

A total of 116 professional and amateur golfers competed over a 12 hour period from 7.00am, and along with the top regional players, there were also entrants from Europe, Africa and America.

On a warm and calm day, spectators flocked into Sevenoaks to watch as the players tackled the challenging layout of the Wildernesse course attempting to secure one of the thirteen places available for the final qualifying round at Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich.

Stephen Shephard, a 22-year-old amateur from Florida, played spectacular golf and won the day with a course record score of 64, which included only 25 putts.   

There were nine players, including Danny Jones of Wildernesse, who tied for 12th place with a score of -1. They were all competing for the 12th and 13th qualifying spots. After a three-hole play off, these last two places went to Freddie Price from Royal Blackheath and Giles Gill from Plum Creek. Unfortunately, Danny Jones just missed out.

Wildernesse professional David Green was also unlucky on the day, finishing on 78, six over for the day with fellow club member Kipp Popert (a) on just +1. Knole Park also had Sam Statham (a) in contention, however he could only manage +5 for the day.

Having previously hosted a number of prestigious competitions, including prior Regional Qualifying events and the British Senior’s Championship, Wildernesse Golf Club has again confirmed it’s position as one of the best inland courses in the Southeast.

The top 13 players now go through to the final qualifying competition at Prince’s on July 2nd, ahead of the Open Championship at Portrush in Northern Ireland on July 18th to 21st. The results were:

Player                              Club                 Par                        Total
Stephen Shephard (A)  United States     -8                            64
Oliver Sly                      Knole Park         -6                           68
Liam Burns (A)              Chislehurst         -4                           68
Simon Kahn                   Hanbury Manor -4                            68
Jensen Hull (A)            Hever Castle       -4                           68
Warren Bennett            Chestfield           -3                           69
Craig Sutherland           Poult Wood        -3                           69
Scott Hudson                  The Warren        -2                           70
Mark Brailey                  Shirley Park         -2                           70
Harvey Byers (A)           Walton Heath    -2                           70
Daniel Brown                 Littlestone          -2                           70
Freddie Price                  Royal Blackheath   -1                          71
Giles Gill (A)                    Plum Creek         -1                           71
—————————————————————————————————–
Danny Jones Wildernesse -1 71
Kipp Popert (A) Wildernesse +1 73
Elliott Owens Hever Castle +4 76

Sam Statham Knole Park +5 77
David Green Wildernesse +6 78

Luke Welham Redlibbets +9 81

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