Amateur golfer Joe Buenfeld retained his Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Championship title, the 121st, on tough Brokenhurst Manor GC. The 24-year-old kept his cool and endured a mental duel during the 101st consecutive final matchplay sequence in the championship and eventually survived a great challenge from persistent Stoneham clubmate Jack Warren to record a superb 2&1 success. In raising the renowned Sloane Stanley Challenge Cup for the second year running, Buenfeld broke the first-ever successful defence jinx on the English domestic scene, which had endured since 1982.
| Tournament | Brokenhurst Manor Golf Club (New Forest) |
| Final Match Score | 2&1 Victory Over Jack Warren |
| Honours Secured | Pechell Salver Winner (Top Seed) |
| Record | First Back-To-Back Defence Since 1982 |
Breaking A Forty Three Year Old Championship Defensive Record
What a phenomenal success story for Joe Buenfeld, whose fantastic triumph is only the 2nd time in 43 years that any player has ever achieved a consecutive defence of the trophy. Brian Winteridge, who is from Hockley, was the last great amateur to retain the Sloane Stanley Challenge Cup when he completed the feat way back in 1982 at Royal Jersey, where the final used to be staged.
Many famous amateur stars in the south were unable to adapt to the competitive pressures of the knockout competition in 40 years, but of the 100s of amateur golfers from the south coast of the country to take part since 1894, Joe Buenfeld now makes a truly exclusive group of 15
Dominating The New Forest Greens With Flawless Matchplay Execution
Joe Buenfeld’s overall title in this difficult multi-day schedule setup is a clear testament of his current ultimate high from within the domestic amateur game. Before the intense matchplay knockout stages of this competition, Buenfeld showed what a wonderful golfer he can be, on the way to capturing the highly desirable Pechell Salver prize, being the number one seed from the 36-hole stroke play qualification that he easily dominated on the first two days.
In winning a place in history by being the sole survivor from the original 16 top-notch qualifiers from the past three days, he added another very rare achievement. Buenfeld is now the tenth single golfer to have captured the stroke play prize in the qualifying competition and the outright county matchplay championship prize in the same sporting calendar year over the past 67 years of this regional sport.
