COUNTY captain Colin Roope became the third amateur in four years to beat the best of the PGA’s club professionals and take the Be Wiser Insurance Hampshire Open title after a play-off at Hayling GC last week (writes Andrew Griffin).

Roope, formerly of Farnham GC, now a Blackmoor member, produced a gutsy performance over the back nine to haul himself into a play-off with defending champion Jon Barnes, from Lee-on-the-Solent.

Barnes shot a fine 69, containing four birdies and just one bogey, in the afternoon heat to go with an opening 72.

But having made an up-and-down at the last from the greenside trap to tie the leading total of one-under-par, Roope coolly rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to snatch the Open title from Barnes’ grasp.

Firemen had been called to put out a gorse fire on the neighbouring Beachlands course while the pair waited to play the par-three first.

But it was Roope’s putter that was on fire in the play-off after Barnes narrowly missed the green left and had to chip on.

It meant a fourth win for Hampshire’s amateurs since Neil Raymond’s triumph back in 2009, followed by Blackmoor’s Ben Lobacz in 2016 and North Hants’ Billy Watson a year earlier.

Roope said: “Hayling is tough enough when there is any kind of breeze. It was very hot – the fairways were rock-hard and the greens were baked. On top of that, the wind was a good 10 to 12mph with cross-winds on nearly every hole. I was feeling it after lunch and dropped four shots by the 11th. But I was determined not to let it go.

“A lot of the club pros play tournaments day in, day out. It’s their livelihood. They are not here for a jolly and can all play. Jon has won this title three times in 11 years and is as good as any club pro in the south.”

Spare a thought for Ben Wall (Hayling) and Martyn Adams (Swanmore) who both missed out by one. Wall, one of the most naturally talented players the county has produced, was heading for the first prize of £657, when he took a treble bogey seven on the 17th to finish 69, 73. And Adams took a six at the last to leave his cards reading 72, 70 – tied with Wall on level par to pocket £423 each.

Not content with one major piece of silverware on the sideboard at his Horndean home, Colin Roope lifted the Pearson Trophy just 72 hours later after winning Liphook’s Mid Amateur Open for over-35s.

Roope, who left himself out of the Hampshire team that lost their South-East strokeplay crown a week earlier, admitted he was desperate to get out and play after watching 36 holes from ‘inside the ropes.’

He shot 69, 72 to take the Pearson Trophy by one from Sussex man Scott Nightingale (72, 70) and ex-Hampshire captain Martin Young (71, 71).

Roope fired three birdies on the back nine and made three more on the same stretch of holes after starting his second round at the 10th.

The last nine holes were punishing in the extreme heat, but not even a treble bogey at the last could deny him victory.

The double success leaves the Hampshire captain with another dilemma as he turns his thoughts to picking the eight-strong team for the South Division title shoot-out against Surrey, at Hayling, next weekend.

His selection is made slightly easier by Billy McKenzie getting a spot in the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at San Francisco’s Olympic Club, which started on Tuesday.

The Spanish Amateur champion is the only English player in an elite 90-strong field, playing four rounds at the club which hosted the 2012 US Open.

Scott Gregory (Corhampton) and Harry Ellis (Meon Valley) have been invited to play in the US Amateur as British Amateur Champions in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The tournament takes place just down the Californian coast at the iconic Pebble Beach (August 13-19).