Craig Hinton upsets world No. 5 Daan Huizing on Day 1 of British Amateur match play

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Craig Hinton won the Welsh Amateur Stroke Play Championship earlier this season.

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Series: Other Tour

TROON, Scotland -- England’s Craig Hinton pulled off a surprise in the British Amateur on Wednesday, when he defeated Daan Huizing to make it through to the last 32 at Royal Troon.

Dutchman Huizing entered the match-play portion of the championship as the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Huizing had high expectations after winning the Lytham Trophy by 11 shots and the St. Andrews Links Trophy by 14.

Hinton qualified for last year’s British Open and won this year’s Welsh Amateur Stroke Play Championship, helping him reach No. 251 on the WAGR. He had never reached the match-play stages in four previous attempts. Yet the gulf in status didn’t show in their second-round match. 

The 23-year-old Hinton was one up playing the last hole after chipping in for birdie at 17. He had to go to an extra hole when he failed to get up and down for par at the last. However, he held his nerve on the first extra playoff hole. He hit a 5-iron off the tee and a wedge second to three feet and holed for birdie.

“He’s a great player, but it’s match play so anyone can beat anyone,” Hinton said. “I knew if I played well on my day, I could beat him. There’s no point putting him on a pedestal.”

Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup player Alan Dunbar also made it through to the last 32. He defeated Spain’s Borja Virto by one hole. However, he didn’t play his best golf.

“I didn’t play great,” Dunbar admitted. “I drove poorly and missed greens, but I am delighted to be through. I will have to find a better swing for tomorrow.”

Dunbar helped Great Britain & Ireland win the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen last year. He won two of three of his matches in the biennial competition as GB&I defeated the United States 14-12. That experience proved vital in helping him make the last 32.

“The Walker Cup has given me confidence,” Dunbar said. “I handled myself well at Aberdeen and remembering I can do that really helps.”

GB&I teammate Rhys Pugh also made it through to the last 32. Pugh defeated England’s Joshua White 6&4 in the first round and then bettered Argentina’s Franco Romero 4&2.

Pugh starred at Aberdeen last year, winning all three of his matches. The Welshman, who has just completed his first year at East Tennessee State University, raced to a three-hole lead after four holes against Romero and was three under for the 15 holes he played in the afternoon.

“I’m playing well and hopefully I can go all the way,” Pugh said.

Sweden’s Daniel Jennevret, the No. 1 match-play seed, lost to former British Boys’ champion Emilio Cuartero by one hole. Jennevret is the ninth player of the last 14 to lead the qualifying and lose in his first match. 

Frenchman Joel Stalter had a hole-in-one at the 125-yard, par-3 “Postage Stamp” eighth hole in a one-hole loss to American Tyler Raber. Raber is one of two players from the United States through to the last 32. Will McCurdy of Auburn University is the other. He defeated No. 2 seed Geoff Drakeford of Australia 8&7 to reach Round 3.

The increasing cosmopolitan nature of the British Amateur was reflected in the players who made it through to the match-play stages. Twenty-five nations were represented, with 53 of the 78 players from outside Great Britain & Ireland. Sixteen nations are represented in the last 32.

Notables to make it to the last 32 include Pedro Figueiredo, the 2009 British Boys’ champion. The Portuguese amateur is the highest WAGR ranked player left in the field at world No. 14. Jack McDonald, 19, from nearby Kilmarnock (Barassie) is also through and will attract much local support in Round 3. Current Scottish Stroke Play Champion Paul Barjon also takes his place in the last 32.

Wednesday's results:
Emilio Cuartero, Spain, def. Daniel Jennevret, Sweden, 1 hole
Matthew Stieger, Australia, def. Thomas Detry, Belgium, 2&1
Craig Hinton, Oxfordshire, def. Daan Huizing, Netherlands, 19th hole
Daniel Nisbet, Australia, def. Clement Batut, France, 2&1
Lorenzo Scotto, Italy, def. Nathan Holman, Australia, 2&1
Kevin Phelan, Waterford Castle, def. Kramer Hickok, USA, 4&3
Victor Henum, Denmark, def. Marcos Pastor, Spain, 6&5
Paul Ferrier, Baberton, def. Ben Stow, Rushmore, 7&6
Nathan Kimsey, Woodhall Spa, def. Richard O'Donovan, Lucan, 2&1
Robert Karlsson, Sweden, def. Olivier Rozner, France, 3&1
Ricardo Melo Gouveia, Portugal, def. Kristjan Einarsson, Iceland, 4&3
Juan F. Sarasti, Spain, def. James White, Lundin, 3&2
Paul Barjon, France, def. Mackenzie Hughes, Canada, 5&3
Jack Bartlett, Worthing, def. Antoni Ferrer, Spain, 4&2
Patrick Winther, Denmark, def. Federico Zucchetti, Italy, 3&1
Alan Dunbar, Rathmore, def. Borja Virto, Spain, 1 hole
Jorge Fernandez Valdes, Argentina, def. Carlos Pigem, Spain, 20th hole
Jacobo Pastor, Spain, def. Paul Howard, Southport & Ainsdale, 2&1
Daniel Schmieding, Germany, def. Daniel Young, Craigie Hill, 3&2
Edouard Espana, France, def. Clement Sordet, France, 1 hole
Matthias Schwab, Austria, def. Ashley Chesters, Hawkstone Park, 1 hole
Tim Gornik, Slovenia, def. Jason Shufflebotham, Prestatyn, 1 hole
Pedro Figueiredo, Portugal, def. Daniel Bringolf, Australia, 19th hole
Jordan Zunic, Australia, def. Adrien Saddier, France, 1 hole
Rhys Pugh, Vale of Glamorgan, def. Franco Romero, Argentina, 4&2
Toby Tree, Worthing, def. Julien Brun, France, 2&1
Tyler Raber, USA, def. Joel Stalter, France, 1 hole
Antoine Schwartz, France, def. Todd Sinnott, Australia, 4&3
Rory McNamara, Headfort, def. Tapio Pulkkanen, Finland, 2 holes
Stephan Jaeger, Germany, def. Max Orrin, North Foreland, 4&3
Jack McDonald, Kilmarnock (Barassie), def. Mathias Eggenberger, Switzerland, 1 hole
Will McCurdy, USA, def. Geoff Drakeford, Australia, 8&7

Ravens Never Stop Believing In Close Games

Posted Dec 18, 2013

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



Baltimore has won three straight by three or fewer points after struggling early in such games.



Baltimore’s blood pressure is still likely high, but at least it’s been worth it recently.

The Ravens were on the wrong end of close games earlier this year. Of their six losses, four were by three points or less.

Now they’re winning them – and thanks to different units.

The Ravens have played nine three-point games this season, losing four of six through Week 10. Now, they’ve won three straight.

“We’ve had a lot of practice at it with close games,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s what the National Football League is.”

On Thanksgiving against Pittsburgh, the defense made a late goal-line stand to preserve a 22-20 victory. At home against Minnesota, the offense drove the length of the field in the final minutes to score a touchdown with four seconds left for a crazy 29-26 win.

On Monday Night Football in Detroit, Justin Tucker’s 61-yard field goal sent the Ravens home smiling once again with an 18-16 victory.

“Man, I tell you what, we are a team that keeps believing. We never quit,” inside linebacker Daryl Smith said. “I don’t really have any words for it. We made more plays tonight with a miraculous finish again.”

Smith had a big interception in the game, but was also the man in coverage when Lions tight end Joseph Fauria made a 14-yard touchdown catch with just two minutes, 17 seconds left to give Detroit a 16-15 lead.



But the Ravens kept battling. First they stopped the Lions from getting a two-point conversion, which meant that Tucker’s eventual 61-yard kick won the game instead of tying it.

Then it was quarterback Joe Flaccoand the offense’s turn to come up with yet another big drive.

Dating back to last year, the Ravens have played in 17 three-point games. Flacco has four game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime this year.

“We’ve been there so many times over the past few years,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said. “If you’re in the huddle, everyone’s just calmed, relaxed, like, ‘Alright, let’s go do it.’ No one’s panicking. We’ve been there before and we know how to handle it.”

Flacco has been clutch throughout the year, and he made one of his best tosses of the year – an absolute laser – to wide receiver Jacoby Jones for a critical 27-yard gain on third-and-10. That essentially put the Ravens in field-goal position for Tucker.

“We don’t panic. We don’t let the situation get too big,” Flacco said. “I wish it wasn’t like that and we didn’t have to continue to play these types of games. But we’ve played a lot of them.”

Flacco wasn’t quite jubilant during his post-game press conference because he felt the offense made the game closer than it needed to be. The Ravens went 0-for-3 in the red zone on Monday night and also stalled on a few more occasions just outside the 20.

“You probably go home feeling better about the ones where you win by a lot and you just did everything really, really well and you’re hitting on all cylinders,” Flacco said. “It’s just two different types of feelings, but they’re both good.”

Flacco said the Lions were playing a lot of zone coverage in the red zone, but that it just boils down to them doing a better job in that area than the Ravens. Detroit entered the game ranked third in the NFL in red-zone defense whereas it’s been a struggle for Baltimore offensively throughout the season.

But the Ravens are making plays in the most critical situations. And they’ll take wins however they come.

“Every play was a fight and it was just good that we finished at the end,” guard Marshal Yanda said. “Obviously, we want to score some more touchdowns than six field goals, but we can’t be picky at this point down the road.”