England’s Golf Coast The Western Lake District is set to host the English Golf Union’s oldest championship competition, The English Amateur Championship, which is being held between 30th July 2012 - 4th August 2012 at Seascale and Silloth-on-Solway golf clubs.

The format for the first two days of the English Men’s Amateur Championship is 36 Hole Stroke Play, the field will split into two for the first two days, with half playing at Silloth-on-Solway, the other half playing at Seascale Golf Club, before switching round on Tuesday.

After which the lowest 64 scores and those tied for 64th play in the next round of the match-play knockout. Silloth-on-Solway will host the entire series of knock out matches, with every match of each round consisting of 18 holes, culminating in the final, which is to be played over 36 holes, on Saturday, 4th August.

Established in 1892 Silloth-on-Solway was originally laid out by Davy Grant, with able assistance from prominent Scottish professionals Willie Fernie and Willie Park, who helped to help establish the reputation of the course.

The course is ranked as Cumbria’s premier course, ranked 21st in England and 54th in the UK. Silloth-on-Solway golf course is a Championship links of over 6,641 yards, which has been laid out over the sand-hills, touched by some of the great classical golf architects, but mostly moulded by nature herself.

Hazards consist of heather and bent; whin and broom; heroic bunkers and sandy wastes. Fairways are always wider than they seem from the tee, and having been laid with springy Cumberland turf, invite courageous fairway woods and crisp iron shots. Greens are subtle, firm, fast, and deadly true. Founded in 1893, Seascale golf links was designed by Willie Campbell and George Lowe.

The course is a traditional links which is maintained to the highest standards offering golfers of all levels of ability an ideal place to test out their skills.

Seascale is ranked as Cumbria’s second best course and 80th in England, also featuring in The Rolex World’s Top 1000 Golf Courses publication. Seascale golf course is described as a splendid natural links course, laid out over 6,495 yards, with undulating greens that are excellent all year round.

You will need both length and control here to score well. Superb views of the Lakeland fells and out across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man make this a real hidden gem of a course. Katie Read West Cumbria Tourism Manager said: ‘’The Western Lake District has so much to offer and we boast a fine selection of golf courses, the best known are Silloth-on-Solway and Seascale.

They both have a long and enviable reputation and this is reaffirmed, as they prepare to host The English Amateur Championship 2012, during which both courses will be showcasing what the Western Lake District has to offer, offset by the dramatic Lakeland Fells and Irish Sea Coast.’’

The Englishman Robert Rock won the BMW Italian Open in the Tyrol. A well-deserved success, and pursued with consistency, regularity, great performance on the field.

And despite this, Rock "The Rock" has had to sweat to get to the final victory. In the final lap, started with 2 shots ahead of a group of players among them the Italian Francesco Molinari, English, his first success on the European Tour has had to fend off the attacks of numerous enemies.

At 5Pm Robert Rock has a bad drive on the right of the fairway into the trees. She's found the ball in a position not difficult for the shot to do, because he had space.

But it was rather complicated trajectory, having to pass the ball in tight spaces between the trunks and branches. It 'was the key moment: his ball on the fairway is output before stopping in a ditch and finally reach the green.

Good and lucky, because a branch can be enough to pass by the natural disaster. It could however still risking a bogey, which led to three play-off, or even worse, with the risk of losing control of the league.

But the shot to the green was accurate, as well as the putt. At that moment, with a pair recovered from a difficult situation, the Englishman was certain of victory. Just do not miss anything on 18, and so he did, touching even the birdie.

Here is Darren's post Open Championship win Press Conference conducted by Lynn Wallace at Royal St George's.

LYNN WALLACE: Ladies and gentlemen, we're joined by the 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke. How does it feel, Darren? (Applause.) 
DARREN CLARKE: Pretty amazing right now, to tell you the truth. You know, it's been a dream since I've been a kid to win The Open, like any kid's dream is, and I'm able to do it, which just feels incredible, incredible right now.

Q. I have to say I didn't see this coming when I saw you duff your tee shot on 16 on Wednesday. 
DARREN CLARKE: You never see a lot coming, never mind anything else (laughter.)
I actually didn't duff it. That shows how little you know about the sport you cover. I cut it into the wind and I cut it a little bit too much and I came up short. But no, I've been playing lovely for a while. I got really, really frustrated on Sunday up at Inverness because I played really nice for the first two days and then played poorly on the Sunday, but came down here, knew I was hitting the ball well, knew it was obviously on links again, and I was really excited and looking forward to it. 
That being said, I still wasn't in the best of humour on Tuesday, but spent a bit of time as I told you earlier with Bob Rotella. My golf seems to -- if I feel as if I'm putting better, my whole game seems to be better, and that's what happened to me this week. I didn't putt fantastic, but I was pretty solid.

Q. At what point today -- you got a couple of bounces that went your way, obviously. 
DARREN CLARKE: I did, I did.

Q. But at what point did you start thinking to yourself this is my day?
DARREN CLARKE: You never really think that up until you're on the 18th green with a couple of shots ahead. You never know what's going to happen. I got a couple of good breaks that went my way. Yesterday I played as good as I could play from tee to green and I didn't really get anything out of it. Today I played not bad; I played okay. Got a couple of good breaks that went my way. Also at the same time hit lots of great putts today which burnt the edges and doesn't go in. So it sort of balanced out. 
But there's times you can get a couple of good breaks but it could have easily just gone the other way, and that's the game, that's links golf and that's the way it is. I actually did not take anything for granted until it was on the back edge of the 18th green there. I've got enough shot -- 17 I was not going to make anything worse than bogey, you know, trying to play the last two holes pretty smart, and I hit a really good tee shot off the 18th tee right in the middle of the fairway. 
Excuse me for a little and I'll have a little sip. 
Anyway, you can't take anything for granted. It was just one of those things where I was trying to be sensible. As I said yesterday, I'm going to go out and try and play my best, and my best today was enough to win.

Q. We know you're a pretty emotional character, how on earth did you manage to keep a lid on your emotions during the 18 holes? And again during and before the presentation?
DARREN CLARKE: I'm just older, just a little bit older and allegedly a little bit wiser. But I certainly have a few thoughts going through my head when I was walking onto the green on 18 because at that stage I could have four putts from there, and even I figured I could manage to get down in four from the edge of the green there. But the few thoughts, thinking about the past, and then again with the "Beeb" doing interview and then making a speech, but you know, I can only be as normal as I am. So if I didn't feel a little bit emotional it wouldn't quite be right. I was but just about managed to cling onto it.

Q. You joked earlier in the week that you play better golf when you're carrying a bit of condition. 
DARREN CLARKE: I like that. I'm going to use that myself.

Q. After this could you see yourself going on a diet?
DARREN CLARKE: I'm on Weight Watchers tomorrow morning. I'm at Chubby's apartment, so I'm going eat and drink as much as I want tonight and he's going to help me on it tomorrow morning.

Q. You're seriously going to go on Weight Watchers in the morning? Points, all that --
DARREN CLARKE: Yeah, all that sort of stuff. He might give me an extra day off if I'm nice to him tonight.

Q. How much are you planning to lose?
DARREN CLARKE: No idea, we'll see. I'll probably get bored with it in a week and give up. (Laughter.) I think this could probably be a bad week for me to try and start. I think every time there's five points in a pint of Guinness, I think it's a real bad week for me to start. With Chubby doing it, I can't get away from listening about him doing it.

Q. I think there are about 40,000 people here and I'm sure at least 39,000 of them wanted you to win. How much was the crowd at Sandwich a factor?
DARREN CLARKE: They were sensational for me all week. They really were. The support they have given me through the bad weather as well as the good weather. They were all out there roaring and shouting. It was just brilliant to have that amount of support. It's been a while since I've felt that amount of support. The fans could not have been any better for me this week. They really were. They've been a pleasure. They've been very, very kind to me.

Q. There were some idiot golf writers out there who wrote you off. 
DARREN CLARKE: Hang on, let me just scratch my little -- no, I'm trying to recollect your little line. "He's in his inexorable slide toward relevance." Is that what you said? Is that what you said? I've got the paper at home. I can show it to you if you don't believe me, "inexorable slide towards relevance." This is a mirage. Carry on, sorry.

Q. At any time in the last few years did you doubt yourself? Did you think you were possibly sliding into golfing relevance?
DARREN CLARKE: You know, bad times in golf are more frequent than the good times. You know, I've always been pretty hard on myself when I fail because I don't find it very easy to accept that. And there's times I've been completely and utterly fed up with the game. But friends and family and Chubby say, get out there and practice and keep going, keep going, keep going, and that's why I'm sitting here now.

Novak Djokovic stormed to his first Wimbledon crown as he saw off the challenge from defending champion Rafael Nadal in four sets. The 24-year-old Serb, with his country's president watching from the Royal Box, won 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours 28 minutes to continue his domination of tennis - and Nadal in particular - throughout this most amazing season in his career.

Djokovic was untouchable on service and moved 5-4 ahead with his third ace, clipping the sideline - at which Nadal stared long and hard without issuing an official challenge for a Hawk-Eye decision. [photo- 

.telegraph.co.uk]

Nadal finally applied the brake to that streak, albeit temporarily, by holding to love. Once more however Djokovic revved up, lifting his ace count to seven and wrapping up the second set in a little over half-an-hour.

This time he had conceded just five points on his serve and lifted his total count of winners to 22. With justification, Nadal looked a worried man. So it really did matter coming in to this match that in all four of his previous matches against the Spaniard this year, Djokovic had emerged victorious. Nadal admitted as much in his own post-final musings and Djokovic agreed.

The Wimbledon journalist Alix Ramsay write: “The sign of a true champion is how well he takes defeat. And judging by the way he explained his four-set pummelling by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal is a true champion.

He may have been outplayed and out-manoeuvred for the best part of two-and-a-half hours but the beaten finalist took the defeat on the chin and owned up to his failings. There are not many men who would be as honest or as open in such a situation.

The reason for his defeat could be explained simply and swiftly: he was just not good enough to beat Djokovic. He did not take his chances, he was nervous and he was outplayed.

After losing four Masters finals to the Serb this year - in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome - he was twitchy in the pressure moments on Centre Court. Nadal made it all sound so logical and so normal.” Wimbledon appeared to have a new favourite, and not just among the knot of shirtless Serbs who would later bring a jarringly unbuttoned show of sporting nationalism to the rather restrained byways of the All England Club.

The next few years of Nadal-Djokovic promise much more of the same.