A WEEK ago Blackmoor’s Colin Roope played down his chances of becoming one of a handful of amateur golfers to win a men’s championship in two different counties.

The 2006 Surrey Amateur Champion, who was a member at Farnham at the time, blamed the shoulder injury that had forced him out of action from the Selborne Salver at his East Hampshire heathland course in April, for several weeks, as putting his season schedule back considerably.

And even without the presence of top United States junior college golfer George Saunders, and Rowlands Castle’s former Spanish Amateur Champion Billy McKenzie, who were playing in the prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy in Scotland, he felt the strength in depth in the county ranks would rule him out of the running.

That was in spite of the fact that Roope won three county standard events in a row at Aldershot’s Army GC, the host club for the 114th Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Championship.

And yet by Sunday, and after five rounds around the heathland course nestling alongside Farnborough Airport, Roope found himself in the final facing Hayling’s Toby Burden.

Just 18 holes stood between Roope and that unique double, the county captain having sat out Hampshire’s first two emphatic league wins of the season against Dorset and Kent as a result of his lack of match sharpness following injury.

And things looked good as Burden pushed his opening tee shot on the par five, giving Roope the chance for a birdie and an early lead.

Burden bounced back with a birdie at the second from 15 feet before a mistake at the third by Roope gave him the lead.

No quarter was asked and none given by either player for the next five holes until Roope failed to get up and down at the par three eighth to go two down.

That seemed to throw a switch in Burden’s brain as rather than becoming tentative or defensive with his lead, he unleashed a birdie barrage that burst Roope’s balloon.

His gap wedge into the 363-yard par four ninth almost went in for an eagle, resting a foot from the hole, and he was left with a two-foot birdie putt at the tenth to move four up.

Roope was already in danger of running out of holes, and after the 11th was halved in par he went for broke at the par five 12th but found the ditch near the green and was forced to take a drop.

He then hit a firm chip which clipped the flag and almost dropped straight in before hopping a couple of bounces away.

With his five conceded Burden bit back, completing his two-putt birdie having put his four iron to 20 feet to move five up with six to play.

Roope’s tee shot at the driveable 13th clipped a tree while Burden’s iron to the left edge of the fairway opened up the pin, and he left his wedge just two feet from the pin to close out the match.

In the first three matches of the weekend’s matchplay phase, Roope had been relentless around the Army course he clearly loves – having won the Bren Trophy, a Hampshire Order of Merit event in 2016 and 2017, followed by the Courage Trophy, at the Hampshire Strokeplay Championship just two months after that successful defence of Army’s own Open Championship.

After qualifying in second place on Friday with a two-under-par total, Roope cast aside last year’s Hampshire Boys prospect Finbar Kane 7&6 in the first round.

But he then had a draining quarter-final against the first Isle of Wight player to win the county championship in 78 years two years ago.

Shanklin & Sandown’s Jordan Sundborg – the Stirling University student who won this year’s British Universities and College Sports’ Order of Merit – had been two up with seven to play, nut he lost the 12th and 13th in what became a scrappy match only to edge back in front at the 14th.

Roope won the 15th and the 16th to go one up but was running out of energy fast – and even though they halved the long par three 17th, the Blackmoor man missed the green at the last and could not get up and down as Sundborg’s four took the match down the 19th.

They halved the first in birdie fours, but Sundborg found the greenside trap at the second and could not get up and down to put Roope in his first Hampshire final, and third of his career, having been beaten in 2004 at Hankley Common.

The biggest shock of the championship came in the first round when Shanklin’s Conor Richards was knocked out by former Southampton, Celtic and Leeds defender Paul Telfer.

The 47-year-old Hockley member, who plays off one, beat the plus-two handicapper 3&1 in one of the best matches the championship has seen in modern history.

But Telfer, who first played in the championship at Liphook in 2009, found Burden too much of a beast – but was far from disgraced in losing their quarter-final tie 4&2.

ANDREW GRIFFIN