Sansome boosts hopes of winning selection for England side this year
BIRSTALL PLAYER FINISHES FOURTH AT SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
STEVE Sansome (Birstall), the 2021 county men’s and county senior champion, has put himself in a stronger position than ever before to gain England recognition this year, writes Jennifer Prentice.
His latest success came in the Senior Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch GC, where he tied fourth in a powerful international field of top amateurs from all over the world.
A consistent Sansome, pictured, defied difficult, windy conditions which swept one of the world’s top links courses, with rounds of 72-7472-74 for his 292 total, making him one of the joint highest English golfers on the final leaderboard.
The new champion was American Mike McCoy, who ended on 283 after rounds of 66-70-69-78, no fewer than seven strokes clear of the field. McCoy is the 2023 USA Walker Cup captain.
Another American, Lee Porter, was runner-up on 290, with Canadian
Miles McConnell third on 291.
Four golfers, including Sansome, fellow Englishmen Steve Jensen, Warren Bladon and Scot David Law were all tied on the 292 mark.
Sansome captured his first regional title of the 2022 campaign recently.
He also became Midland Golf Union senior champion last year.
Sansome shot 70 at Mickleover GC to win the Midland Golf Union Midland Senior Spring tournament. He won by a stroke from his clubmate Graham Marshall and Mike Deeley (Enville), who both carded 71, with two more on 72 – Paul Eastwood (Hollinwell) and Bill Thompson (Kings Norton). Sansome said a practice round the day before the tournament was crucial, with course knowledge a key factor in negotiating the tight, sloping fairways.
The top 25 finishers qualify for this season’s Midlands seniors order of merit.
It was also the opening round that counts towards the Brian Morris Trophy for golfers over 65 years of age.
Sansome and his Birstall clubmate Phil Gray also did well in the Midland GU Pairs tournament at Gog Magog GC, at Cambridge.
They finished in second place on four-under-par 68, one stroke behind the winners.
Sansome is now in a good position to achieve one of his top targets – to gain selection for the national side.
He has represented Leicestershire and Rutland county golf union for more than 40 years, first as a junior, with great success, so this would be a well-deserved accolade.