Cory DeSilva was crowned the Championship Division champion at the HSBC Junior National Championships yesterday at Belmont Hills when he beat Mikus Ming 1-up in the 36-hole final.

The match was just as close as the scoreline suggests, with nothing separating the pair after two demanding rounds of golf in hot and humid conditions. DeSilva, 17, was 2-up after the morning 18 holes but Ming would not buckle in the heat, coming back to stay in contention in the afternoon round and taking the match down to the wire with some steady golf.

“It was a tough day, especially with the conditions being hot,” the new champion admitted. “It was hard to keep up the good play for 36 holes, but we managed to do it and were shot for shot the whole day.

“He definitely battled me the whole way, he was putting pressure on me by putting his shots in play and on the green, so it made it hard for me to capitalise because he didn’t make any mistakes. In that type of tournament you have to capitalise on your opponent’s mistakes but it was very hard to because he was steady all day.

“This was my first time playing him in match play. I played well all week and it was good to put multiple rounds together.”

On the deciding 18th hole, DeSilva put his four-iron tee shot onto the fairway while Ming drove to the right side of the fairway.

“He had to pitch out and was still behind me, then hit his shot over the green,” DeSilva recalled.

“Then he had a tough chip which he stopped close and then made bogey. I hit my nine iron just over the back and then chipped it on seven feet long and made that putt for the win. I was on the green in three and made my par putt.”

DeSilva will leave in the fall to attend Troy University in Alabama where he will be playing golf. He is looking forward to it.

“After this week I definitely struck the ball well and putted well,” he said. “That’s one of the keys to match play, you have to make putts so finally getting the putts to drop was really good.

“I have a lot of confidence in my game right now. All the juniors played well, you have to play out of your shoes to win this tournament so I’m glad I was able to do that.”

In the Open Flight Division final, 10-year-old Kenny Leseur, the No 1 seed, defeated third seed Tyler Emery 13 and 12 in the 36 hole final which was played over two days.

Sam Wehmeyer won the Championship Flight consolation final when he beat Joe Waters 7 and 6 while Joe Waters took his older brother Luke to second play-off hole before losing 1-up in the Open Flight consolation final. The brothers battled each other stroke for stroke in the 18 hole final before Luke finally sealed it on the 20th hole.