Liphook’s Conor Richards was denied a fairytale return to his Shanklin & Sandown home when he lost in the semi-finals of the 120th county championship against Stoneham’s Joe Buenfeld, the eventual champion after Sunday’s final.

The 27-year-old found his semi-final match to be “one game too far”.

Richards, who transferred to Miami’s Barry University in 2018 after two successful seasons at Lander University, in South Carolina, left the Island to follow his career outside the golfing world, and now gets to play once a week at most.

After Buenfeld reeled off three winning holes with pars, from the first, he then produced birdies at the fourth and sixth to take a commanding six-hole lead, after Richards’ bogey at the par-three fifth.

Not even his first birdie of the day could shift the momentum created by the University of Incarnate Word graduate, who has learned how to handle the wind playing in Texas.

While sunshine greeted the players in stark contrast to Saturday’s gloomy grey skies and strong breeze, the wind was still fresh enough to make the Isle of Wight’s premier golf course a formidable opponent.

Richards shared the tenth in bogey fives to remain seven down after Buenfeld had birdied the par-five eighth, and parred the short ninth over the water, but he was forced to concede when a three was enough for Buenfeld’s par to win 8&7.

Richards said: “I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing when I entered. I do enjoy golf now – when I played college golf and came home in the summer to represent Hampshire, it was intense and full-on.

“But golf is now also a social activity. There’s none of the tension or anxiety. I played some good golf in the first round but then the wind got up after lunch.

“Knowing the course and having played in a few county championships I thought four or five-over would probably be enough to make the knockout. But I was struggling a bit coming home, until I missed the green at the last, thinking I might need the birdie to make it.”

Richards beat former Hampshire PGA pro James Pitcher in the quarter-finals, after Pitcher ended any hope of an all-Liphook affair for a place in the last four by knocking out Darren Walkley.

Richards, who beat Ben Guy 4&3 to make the quarter-finals, said: “It was a scrappy affair, but I was two-up with two to play.

“I found the bunker on the left on the 17th and James was about 30 feet away still for par after landing short of the green.

“I had 25 feet or more for par and the win, only to see it lip-out, before he boxed his putt. Luckily I was on in two on the last – looking at a makeable eagle – and James’ second ended up in the rubbish so he conceded the hole and the match.

“Unfortunately, after four rounds in two days, I had played about as much golf as I have in the past three months, and it caught up with me against Joe.

“I have no complaints and I am proud to have made the semi-finals in front of the members I know so well, at a club that will always mean so much to me.”

By Andrew Griffin