Matthias Schmid has won the European Amateur Championship at Diamond Country Club.
The German player started the day with a two-shot lead after a record-breaking nine-under-par 63 in Round 3. Schmid got off to a perfect start in the final round. After making birdie on the first hole, he made eagle on the fourth and another birdie on the tough par-4 seventh, extending his lead to six shots.
Schmid looked in control all day. Despite making a double-bogey on the ninth, he would take a four-shot lead into the final nine holes. A birdie on the 12th and only one blemish on the back-nine meant Schmid would have four putts from the back of the 18th green to win the biggest tournament of his amateur career.
Two-putts were all that was needed for Schmid to card a final round 70, finish on 15-under-par, and become just the second German player to win the European Amateur Championship.
"I feel exhausted, but very very satisfied and happy. It's incredible, I can't believe it so far." said Schmid. "I had a good showing at the British Am' last week, finished ninth there, and just tried to keep it going. This course was setup how I'm used to back in Germany and I just kept it going from there. I played very solid towards the end and didn't make many mistakes which was the key."
The win earns Schmid a spot in The Open Championship at Royal Portrush next month. "I can't believe that right now, I haven't played in any high-level professional events, so to have The Open as my first one, it's unbelievable." said Schmid. "I want to practice with Tiger and Rory, those are my heroes! I'm probably going to watch them play more than I play. Obviously, I'm going to go and try and play well, but at the same time it's just a pleasure to play, it's a huge honour for me."
In his winning speech, Schmid gave special thanks to his father, who caddied for him in the final round.
Euan Walker earned his second runner-up finish in as many weeks. The Scottish player lost out in the final match of The Amateur Championship less than a week ago, and claimed the silver medal this week as well. Walker was the only player to get within three shots of Schmid all day after shooting a 66 (-6).
Three players finished in a tie for third. England's Ben Jones, who lost out in the semi-final of The Amateur Championship to Walker last week, was awarded the bronze medal on a 36-hole countback. Austrian, Maximilian Steinlechner, who featured in the final pairing with Schmid, and Englishman, Joe Long, were the other two players to finish on nine-under-par.
Jerry Ji, who was awarded the bronze medal in last year's championship, nearly repeated the feat this week. The Dutch player finished on eight-under-par in a tie for sixth. Akshay Bhatia, the second highest ranked player in the field, earned a top-10 finish after a two-under-par 70 in the final round got him to six-under for the tournament.
Media credit: European Golf Association
