On the same day Brooks Koepka headed into the final round of the PGA Championship with a seven-shot lead, James Newton found himself in a similar position in the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship. After opening with a pair of 66's (-5) and furthering his lead with a 69 (-2) on day three, Newton headed into the final round at County Sligo Golf Club with a five-shot lead.
The English player had a shaky start to his final round, opening with three bogeys, but recovered well with birdies at the fourth, fifth, and eighth holes. Despite making a triple-bogey on the par-three 16th, Newton still had enough shots in hand to win by five strokes over Ireland's Conor Purcell on nine-under-par.
"I knew that I could win" said Newton, who was ranked outside the top-2500 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking heading into the week. "One of my goals was to win a 72-hole event. I've ticked that off quite early, I need to go back and re-evaluate my goals now."
"It's nice to have a win early on in the season," Newton added. "And I know that I can do it again this year so I just need to go and do it."
Two other English players, Charlie Strickland and Arron Edwards-Hill, finished tied for third place on three-under-par.
© Photo credit: Golfing Union of Ireland