Former Southsea golfer Darren Walkley close to Selborne Salver victory on return to the amateur ranks

The former Progolf Tour – who has played against the likes of emerging stars like France’s Antoine Rozner, Finland’s Sam Valimaki and Poland’s Adrian Moronk – lost a play-off to rising England teenager Zac Little, from Hertfordshire, whose father Sam played on the European and Challenge Tours.

Walkley, who only got his amateur status back last year after calling time on his professional career during the pandemic, showed the kind of form that earned him a county championship in 2015 and two Hampshire Order of Merits in his national ranked event at Blackmoor GG.

The Westborne golfer, who started playing golf at Crookhorn and Southsea GC, and went from being a seven-handicapper to a county player with a plus-handicapper in several seasons, was finally beaten by a birdie at the third-extra hole.

Walkley shot two rounds of 68 to post a two-under total on the tough East Hampshire heathland track at Bordon, and was only caught by Little’s storming second round 65 after carding 71 before lunch.

It was the fifth play-off for the Salver since 2002, and the second in the last three – given the event was called off in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.

After both players made light work of the tough dog-leg 450-yard 10th with pars, Walkley looked in control as Little went long to the back of the notorious 18th.

He watched the teenager’s chip run down off to the front edge, with the Liphook man some 30 feet away on the fringe, left of the pin.

But the former England junior international popped his sand wedge into the hole with one bounce in front of a stunned Walkley, who left his approach some eight feet beyond the pin.

He nervelessly sank that and then opted for an iron on the 333-yard uphill first, which Ross Fisher famously drove with a three-wood when he won in 2004.

But with Little reducing his approach with a booming drive splitting the fairway to leave just a flicked wedge, Walkley watched as his approach came up 12 feet short on the line of the flag.

Little, some 70 yards closer, left his wedge just six feet below the hole and made no mistake as Walkley’s birdie effort ran out of pace a foot from the pin.

Losing to a three was no disgrace and Walkley said: ‘I was a member at Blackmoor for one year while a pro.

‘I finished in the top 10 in my first Salver in 2014, so I really like the course.

‘Well done to Zac – he looks like he could be some player producing a shot like that on 18 in a play-off.

‘I have to be pleased with my performance in my first big amateur event for eight years.

In the morning, a cold north wind made the course even tougher and longer than usual. But the pro-golfer-turned- carpenter made three birdies in his first 13 holes, with only a double at the tough par-three 15th blotting his card.

Rowlands Castle’s Darren Wright was 16th after shooting 73,69, while Hayling’s Toby Burden carded a 72 and 71 to finish 20th.

Hockley’s defending champion Luke Hodgetts finished 47th with two 74s.

*Darren Walkley and Zac Little headed to North Hants for Sunday’s Hampshire Hog, each with a strong chance of claiming the Hampshire Salver for the best 72-hole aggregate.

Walkley was still in the hunt despite a two-over par 72 in the first round at Fleet. Little dropped out of contention after a morning 68 put him four ahead of Darren, when he reached the turn at four-over in his second round.

Walkley was one-under for his front nine after birdies at the third and fourth, but despite hitting 17 greens in regulation in round one, and another 14 in round two, the 33 putts after lunch – and 37 before – told the tale of his day.

He dropped four shots on the back nine – making just one more birdie at the 14th – including back-to-back bogeys at the par-five fifth and the last.

Walkley said: ‘The greens were much harder for me to putt on Sunday than Saturday.

‘My ball-striking was great at North Hants – I just could not make any putts and that eventually wore my long game down a bit.’

Stirling University’s Will Coxon became the seventh player to win the Hog and Hampshire Salver since 2000.

He beat Kent’s Ben Quinney in a two-hole play-off, after both tied on six-under, leaving Walkely sixth overall in the Hampshire Salver, four shots behind the man from Cumbria’s Carus Green GC.

Hayling’s Toby Burden was in contention to win the Hog with three shots to play, after racing to four-under on his front nine, in round two.

But he missed the 16th green and his chip failed to stop and ran off the other side, before he missed a very short putt for a six.

The triple bogey, followed by a six at the next, dropped him down from third place to ninth, his second top 10 finish since regaining his amateur status seven years ago.

Burden had won the Hampshire Strokeplay Championship at North Hants last September, claiming the Courage Trophy with his blistering first round 64 equalling the amateur record.

Despite the tricky greens, he looked capable of winning his first big English event since being crowned Champion of Champions in 2019 – until his horror hole.

An excellent 70 from Darren Wright saw the former Brabazon and Carris Trophies winner from Rowlands Castle leapfrog his county team-mate to take seventh.

North Hants’ Robert Wheeler, a member of the Hampshire first-team squad, finished fourth on one-under – thanks to a second round 68.

Former England international James Knight, from Sandford Springs, who played in the same county team as 1995 Hog

winner Justin Rose, rolled back the years with an even-par total to take fifth place.