Like Justin Rose, who looked up to the heavens to thank his late father Ken after sinking the putt that would earn him the US Open, Harry Ellis was looking upwards when he claimed the 122nd Amateur Championship, earning him a spot in next month’s Open at Royal Birkdale.
Having lost his mum Tracy to cancer when she was just 50, less than four years ago, the Meon Valley man could have been forgiven for forgetting about his dreams of becoming a top tour pro for a while.
But instead of wallowing in grief, Ellis put on his game face and headed off to Florida just two months later to join the Seminoles, at Tallahassee, in January 2014.
The Florida State University junior admitted mum was very much on his mind after sinking a four-footer for par at the second extra hole to kill off Aussie Dylan Perry after 38 holes in an epic final at Royal St George’s.
Ellis said: “Some people know the story with my mum.
“Golf is an up and down game – it gives you some really bad times and it gives you some really great times like today, and you’ve just got to take the rough with the smooth.”
The 21-year-old was hailed as the next Hampshire superstar after Rose having become the youngest-ever English Amateur champion at the age of 16, winning the title at Silloth-on-Solway, on the Cumbrian coast to break Sir Nick Faldo’s record set in 1975 by two years.
Now he is the youngest player in some 94 years to win both the English and British Amateur crowns by some six years.. and only the third to do that double in history after Sir Michael Bonallack, the ex-R&A secretary, and the late R&A captain Michael Lunt, who died in office in 2007.
Ellis can look forward to playing in The Open on the Lancashire coast where Rose shot to prominence in the late 1990s.
And providing he remains an amateur between now and next spring, he can expect the traditional invite accorded to the Amateur Champion to play in the 2018 Masters at Augusta.
Ellis, who came from four holes down with five to play at Sandwich, said: “My life tried to change at 16 when I won the English Amateur but at 21 I’m ready for it.
“I understand what is going to be ahead. Really, I just appreciate life a lot more, you know the story behind everything, and I’ve got to put it into perspective.”
Ellis also lost his grandfather who was another big influence on his life, along with another great golfing mentor – John Stirling, the head pro at Meon for many years, who was one of the most respected teachers and figures in the PGA over the last 50 years or more.
He also acknowledged watching his Hampshire team-mate Scott Gregory win last year’s Amateur at Royal Porthcawl, and going on to make his debut in the Open at Royal Troon, Augusta and the US Open earlier this month, had been a big inspiration.
“I’ve seen Scott’s year and I’ve seen how he’s taken the opportunity with both hands. For me I am still in a perfect environment because I’ll be protected when I go back to the states a little bit. Being four-and-a-half hours away from Augusta couldn’t be any better preparation for the Masters really.
There will be little time for rest in the next four weeks as he is due at Walton Heath for the start of the European Amateur Championship, starting tomorrow.
The winner will also receive an automatic exemption into The 146th Open Championship. Ellis beat the 2016 winner Luca Cianchetti 3&1 in the semi-final, last Friday, and the Italian is also playing at Birkdale.
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