Stuart Archibald treated himself to a special 22nd birthday present when he won the Hants, IoW and Channel Islands Golf Championship at Hayling on Sunday, beating the host club's Toby Burden 5&3 in an absorbing but ultimately one-sided final.

A member of Blackmoor since February, Archibald, off +1, was never threatened and was four holes to the good at the turn. Burden did peg him back to two, but it was a false dawn and Archibald, who had defied doctor's orders to play, swiftly reasserted himself, finishing in the grand manner with a towering nine-iron to a foot at the 423-yard 15th.

He was three under the card at the time, one shot worse than in his morning semi-final against Hayling's Mark Thistleton, the 2004 champion, who just failed to make the birdie at the last that would have forced the match into sudden-death.

Both finalists opened with threes at the short first and then traded fours at the par-five second, where Archibald was home with a four-iron. But Burden, bunkered 40 yards away, splashed out to 20 feet and holed for an unlikely half.

Two wayward tee shots cost the 18-year-old the next two holes and he went further behind at the 352-yard eighth, where Archibald pitched to four feet. And when he converted an eight-footer at the ninth, it looked all over.

But Burden briefly rediscovered a bit of the form that had seen him win his semi-final against Mark Bell (Shanklin & Sandown), taking the tricky 270-yard tenth with a 15-foot birdie putt and the 11th, where Archibald's seven-iron found a cavernous bunker.

Hope soon turned to despair, however, as the younger man carted his drive into the wilderness at the 444-yard 12th. A hunt turned up several balls, but not his and he was suddenly three down again and running out of holes.

This time, there was no reprieve. After halving the next in fours, Burden had a moment of madness, airmailing a three-wood into the gorse at the 534-yard 14th. Archibald, safely aboard in three, waited patiently for the concession before walking to the next tee and the championship, making its first return to the county's only links since 1995.

"That's the best I've played tee to green in 18 months," he said. "And apart from a 30-footer at the last to beat Richard Elmes on Saturday, I didn't hole a lot of putts all week. But I didn't make many mistakes, either, which is crucial at Hayling.

"Normally, I don't really enjoy links golf, because I hit the ball too high. So I'm glad the conditions were calm. And I'm even gladder I entered, because I've had RSI in my elbow for months now and my doctor advised me to take two weeks off."

Archibald is aiming to turn professional in September, but may have to rethink his plans if his career in the unpaid ranks continues its upward curve.

Burden, a county colt who plays off scratch, could only rue what might have been, especially those errant tee shots. He also confessed to feeling "a bit knackered", perhaps no surprise given that he is part of Hayling's greenkeeping team and was up at 5.30am to help prepare the course for the championship.

Fellow greenkeeper, Mark Thistleton, had led Friday's qualifiers with rounds of 66, 76, two clear of Jonathan Watt (Brokenhurst Manor) and Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle); and three ahead of Stoneham's Richard Elmes and young Rob Patrick, a three-handicapper whose 72, 73 return brought him the best nett score.

But there was to be no place for Stoneham stablemate and 2005 champion, Ryan Henley, who followed a morning 74 with an awful 83 to miss out by a full eight shots. Other notable absentees, all from Stoneham, included Andy Bow (77, 74), Sam Boyes (80, 79) and Mark Bicknell (86, 81).

The championship featured one ace, Matt Allen, of the Army GC, holing his tee shot at the 270-yard 10th for that rarest of birds, an albatross.