England’s Eliot Baker was crowned champion of the 95th Portuguese Amateur Championship on Saturday, after a stellar performance at Penina Hotel & Golf Resort.
The 22-year-old, who won the West of England Open Match Play in September, fired -19 in Portugal to secure his finest win to date, as he finished three shots clear of Czech Republic’s Louis Klein and four ahead of fellow England teammate Daniel Hayes, who finished 3rd.
The Devon golfer revealed: “I was feeling some nerves before I teed off in the final round, but once I got the first hole out of the way, I was mostly comfortable. And when I was stood on the 18th tee with a three-shot lead, I was pretty sure I could see it out from there!”
His standout moment from the week included a monstrous 75-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole during the second round, in which Baker admitted: “That boosted my confidence and felt like a big momentum shift for the rest of the tournament.
“It’s definitely my biggest win to date and I’ll be celebrating by having a few drinks with my family when I get home. I’m sure the trophy will make its way onto the mantelpiece too!”
With a busy calendar of events ahead in 2025, the Tiverton Golf Club member has set his sights on more glory.
He added: “It’s a proud achievement to win this tournament with so many talented players from around Europe. I hope I can keep giving myself opportunities to win golf tournaments throughout the year, and hopefully I can close out a few more.
“I just want to keep improving my overall game and push forward, and hopefully the results will come.”
Elsewhere, England’s Ben Brown finished tied-13th, while a further nine England youngsters made the cut to finish among the top-42 players. Check out the final leaderboard here.
The tournament also had a team element to it, with England winning the Nations Cup over the first three rounds, thanks to Andrew Haswell, Ben Brown and Tom Osborne.
The trio helped England finish on -22, five shots ahead of Italy II, and seven ahead of Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Wales.
