Ross McGowan, winner of the inaugural South of England Open Strokeplay Championship at Walton Heath last week, now has the English Championship in his sights.
He proved he will be no pushover by overwhelming Walton Heath's own Stuart Howieson 7&6 in his first round tie as the English Amateur Championship got under way under grey skies at Bromborough yesterday.
The match had a relatively low tempo start but the 23-year-old, who is at college in Tennessee, won six holes in a row from the fourth, three with birdies, and ran out an easy winner.
Fellow seed Gary Wolstenholme, who is still seeking the English title, cantered to a 4&3 win over Christy McLaughlin from Jersey, and will now meet new boy cap Jamie Abbott from Suffolk, who had to go to the 20th before eliminating fellow teenager Tony Mitchell.
Kent-based Steven Tiley, a team-mate of Wolstenholme's in England's European Team Championship triumph at Hillside earlier this month, had a comfortable 6&5 victory over Andy Town, a quarter-finalist two years ago, but another seed, Neil Dean lost out at the 19th to Surrey's Colin Roope.
Richard Walker, winner of the Brabazon Trophy in 2001, capped 27 times for England, and twice a quarter-finalist, also had a brief encounter with this year's event, going down 3&2 to Kent's Ricki Neil-Jones.
Neil-Jones had birdies at the first four holes to go three up. He was four ahead at the turn and although Walker hit back to win two holes it was not enough.
Former boy international Paul Waring, aged 20, a member of Bromborough, was another seed to go through, 4&3 over Joseph Murray. n Andrew Sullivan, the county captain, broke the Sutton Coldfield course record on his way to victory in the Warwickshire Boys Championship yesterday.
Eighteen-year-old Sullivan, from Purley Chase, fired a first round 65 on his way to a 36-hole total of 138 and a three-stroke victory over Ben Bernamont (68,72) from Coventry Finham.
Sullivan held the record for a short while. For Dale Marson (Rugby) after a 75 in the morning, improved his score in the second round by ten shots to equal the new mark and finish in third place.
Maxstoke Park, represented by Robert Browning and Andy Geraghty, won the team award and they go forward to contest the EGU Junior Club Championship at Woodhall Spa in October.
