Biagio Andrea Gagliardi was crowned the first ever Italian winner of the Brabazon Trophy after a thrilling final day at Hankley Common Golf Club.
The 18-year-old fired a round of -1 to finish -8 overall, two clear of his nearest competitor, Freddie Turnell (Burnham & Berrow), who won the George Henriques Salver in the process for being the leading under-20 player from GB&I.
Gagliardi looked in command after a brilliant three-under front nine on the final day, but a double bogey on the 10th and a birdie for playing partner Mattias Varjun (Estonia) saw a three-shot lead wiped out.
However, consecutive bogeys for Varjun saw him slip back as his Italian playing partner made birdie on 13 to regain a three-shot lead, and despite a blip on 14, the Olgiata golfer drove the par-4 15th with his 3-wood for birdie before seeing out victory with another birdie on 17.
MAKING HISTORY
He said: “I’m ecstatic, it’s history right here. I couldn’t ask for a better tournament to win. I settled in pretty quickly to the final round and it was a good front, but then on 10 I had probably my first missed drive of the week and made a double-bogey. It could’ve been very easy from there to lose it but I recovered very quickly, played some good golf and remained calm, patient and got the win.
“It was great walking down the 18th with all the spectators, probably the best moment of my life. All the people who came out to watch – I can’t be more thankful and grateful for this opportunity. I can’t wait to go back home now and celebrate the win with my family and friends!”
Burnham & Berrow’s Turnell fought throughout and back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 fired him back into contention, as he came in as clubhouse leader on -6.
Two early birdies for England Men’s Squad’s Ben Bolton (Enville) saw him challenging for a while but bogeys late on ended his chances of winning, while Australian Kayun Mudadana, who shot from tied-44th to tied-4th on Saturday with his course-record showing of -8, kicked off with a birdie on the final day before a four-hole bogey run all but ended his hopes of lifting the trophy.
Varjun finished tied-3rd on -5 alongside Eliot Baker (Tiverton), with the Estonian picking up the bronze medal on countback, while another Australian in Billy Dowling shot a final round of 69 (-2) to finish -4 overall in sole 5th.
2024 English Amateur champion Harley Smith (The Rayleigh) finished 6th on -3 with Scotland’s Jack McDonald, Bolton and Mudadana tied-7th on -2, as only nine players finished the four-day event under par.
A further eight players finished on level-par in tied-10th, including England Men’s Squad member Dylan Shaw-Radford (Huddersfield). Check out the final leaderboard here
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