Pitted (literally) against Clarke was the leader of the amateur 'Jedi', not quite 200 years old (early 20s actually), was +4 'Obi-Wan' Andy Sullivan. There was no 'Yoda' who made it into the top ten (which was probably why the Amateurs lost eventually - and any more mature player who would like to be so titled should write to the editor) so it was left to Andy and a group of our best young players to try and win the war for golfing supremacy.

After the first eighteen, the contenders for the moniker of 'Skywalker' seemed to be Rob Browning and an ever youth-full Gareth Jenkins, whilst Rob Holland and Tom Ibbertson lurked perhaps just too far back.

'It was my first time here - good job too', said Clarke, 'Its very tight - you are better off not knowing where all the rubbish is', after a 69 where he putted beautifully on what he described as the best greens he had played on all year, for the morning round when Rob Hood stood up as a very fair and testing challenge.

The rains were predicted and Sullivan seemed burnt out by his 14 birdie battle with Clarke (7 apiece) for the afternoon.

'You can't be pleased with a 71 when you've shot that many red numbers', said Andy.

He did take the lead early on in the afternoon, when Clarke bogied two holes early on, but the first mistake came when trying to hit a three iron through a keyhole of a gap in a bush on the 13th. There had been four bogies in a row in the morning and three in a row in the afternoon before Andy could turn to his fellow jedi-amateurs and smiling say 'let the golf be with you' (readers please don't think this was a goodbye as Andy still has opportunities to get back to +5 this year and no plans to join a tour yet).

Jenkins had bad memories of Rob Hood from the Amateur four years ago. He then stood on the 12th tee six under before hitting at least three balls out of bounds at that hole and the next -

'The morning was the best I've played in some time - I just got it going. The highlight was hitting the 12th and 13th fairways - those memories from the Amateur were long living.'

Holland would add a 75 to a 73 whilst Tom Ibbertson would end up third best Amateur, despite making a hash of the 18th with air shots and drops in both rounds. That apart, his 35 putts after hitting virtually every green meant he would not pick up the trophy.

That left Rob Browning and one last hope. Rob opened with a level par 72 and then despite a hatful of bogies, he made more in the way of birdies and then an eagle at the 6th to reach -3 which would be the winning score. The challenge ended there but from the shadows, his playing partner would give the amateurs one last chance.

Pro Andy Jones reach -3 after 15 holes of his first round before handing in a 70 (-2) at lunch. A double bogey at the 18th left Andy needing something special and he managed that with birdies at the 3rd and 4th before a bogey at the 8th put him back to -3 after a finishing 71.

'I've just played Midland events this year', said Andy, 'I've won the Midland Assistants Midland Order of Merit, and been second to Cameron in our (Warwickshire's) two 'majors'

Cameron Clarke has perhaps not had as good a year as the last two and despite his early two bogies in the second round, plus a miss from 2ft at the 12th (his third hole for the pm round), his mistakes were not as many as Andy Sullivan and two birdies at the 5th and 6th left him on the same -3 as Andy Jones.

The weather offices had predicted rain by 4pm. It was 30 minutes late but did influence events as the last amateur tried his very best to stop the professionals from returning to prominence.

Jack Sant is always gently ribbed by his fellow amateurs for being perhaps the one person who can show off properly in a tight golf shirt (the numbers of requests for pictures to be photo-shopped to remove bellies is significant from the rest!).

Muscles apart, he has a superb swing and a deft touch. Two years away from the game only ended just under a year ago, and this season was one of 'nearly' - as it was again today.

Jack's morning round showed some inconsistency which will disappear with time (a double bogey and three 'singles' to go with four birdies). His second round was something special.

Combining his physical abilities with some steely play, Jack eagled the 6th as well and then birdied the 9th to go to -4 for the round and -3 for the day.

Another birdie followed at the 12th to put him in the lead. That was short lived when like Andy Sullivan, Jack found trouble from the tee at the 13th and took six.

Having negotiated the 16th at the start of the down-poor which later flooded the greens, Jack caught his approach to the 17th slightly heavy and bogied. He then faced the notorious 18th at Robin Hood in even more rain.

It has to be mentioned that Robin Hood made every effort to present a top quality course for the Open, in very trying conditions. They have suffered from poor drainage but are making Herculean efforts to improve this to match the quality of their layout, led by a new green-keeper who was praised by all involved. The rains were such that the play-off which should have decided the title could not be played, and Sant would not make it a three ball.

'I played the 18th with two of the best shots I've ever hit', said Jack of a 3 iron and then a 6 iron to 10ft on a hole that the lay-up makers were trying to hit big rescue clubs to. The birdie putt drifted left and it would be best Amateur for Jack - he has though promised to return even better next year, to join his leader and all the fellow amateurs who will be looking for the third installment in this saga - the 'Return of the Amateurs' - when the professionals will be finished off .... for ever ....

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