SHIPLEY member Will Whiteoak topped a tightly-packed leaderboard at Clitheroe to to win the northern qualifying event for the Brabazon Trophy.

The 21-year-old from Haworth shot a three-under par 68 to confirm his place in the English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, which will be played at Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell) from June 24-27.

“It was a good effort and it’s good to get it over and to be 100 per cent through to Hollinwell,” said Whiteoak, who won the North of England Youth title last year and the Welsh Youth crown in 2013.

His closest challengers in qualifying were a group of three players on 69 – Ian Kenwright (Haydock Park), Oliver Carr (Heswall) and Ben Brewster (Bawtry).

Dominic Barnes (Caldy) also beat par with one-under 70 and the cut fell at plus-three 74, with a card countback required to determine the last five of the 30 qualifiers in which Howley Hall's Ben Hutchinson just missed out.

Whiteoak, who has played in the Brabazon twice before, is looking forward to a return to Hollinwell where he reached the last 16 in the British boys’ championship of 2012, before being beaten by the eventual winner Matt Fitzpatrick, who is now on the European Tour.

Among the early starters, he was quick to make his score. Beginning from the tenth, he had four birdies on the outward half and reached the turn at three-under. Two more birdies and two bogeys followed on the second nine.

“I wasn’t in any trouble off the tee and I hit decent approach shots, so all my birdie putts were pretty close,” said the former Oakbank School pupil. Among them was a sand-iron shot to the 16th which finished within a foot of the hole.

The event was played in a mixture of chilly sunshine and showers, with a hailstorm for the early starters.

It was the second of two qualifiers for the Brabazon, following last week’s southern event at Liphook, Hampshire.