It has not taken Peter Fenton long to re-establish himself as one of the best golfers in the Bradford district.

The Cleckheaton player won the Karl Curran Golfer of the Year Trophy in his comeback season in 2009 after giving up the game for seven years.

But his second coming was nothing compared to when he first burst onto the scene in 1996. That saw him win a much bigger prize that catapulted him into the national spotlight.

Fenton came from nowhere to lift one of the amateur game’s most prestigious titles – the English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, otherwise known as the Brabazon Trophy.

The cream of the country’s amateur talent will do battle for this year’s crown at Royal Liverpool in two weeks’ time. But Fenton was not even part of the Yorkshire squad when he produced his shock triumph at Royal St George’s 14 years ago.

The unknown 22-year-old – then a member at Fixby – suddenly found his name being engraved on the trophy alongside two-time major winner Sandy Lyle and other stars who have won the event, such as Ryder Cup players Gordon Brand Junior and Peter Baker.

Fenton, who is in the Bradford Union team who host Sheffield at Shipley on Sunday, admits the significance of his success did not dawn on him at the time – a case of ignorance being bliss.

Looking back, he said: “Not being a great golfer at the time, I was not really aware of how much esteem the event is held in. That did me a favour. It was the first time I’d played in it and I wasn’t aware how important it was. That probably helped me win it.”

Putting himself on such an illustrious honours board – which also includes Rodney Foster, one of Bradford’s best ever amateurs – thrust him into the limelight. He was selected for England and the Walker Cup training squad, playing alongside current-day stars Luke Donald and Justin Rose.

Fenton proved he was no flash in the pan by winning all his matches in the home internationals that year but he was surprisingly dropped at the start of the following season in 1997.

The decision still grates with Fenton, who said: “Lack of form was a reason given but there’d been nothing to play in. It was a shock to the system. I’d gone from having played five, won five to not being picked in the squad. It was heart-breaking and it meant I was knocked out of the Walker Cup.”

Fenton turned professional in October of that year and admitted he would have made the move earlier had he foreseen his fate. He said: “With hindsight, I should have done it in ’96. That was when I was playing my best and winning the Brabazon would have given me more chance of gaining invites to events. But I gave it another year to try and make the Walker Cup.”

The Cleckheaton-based player spent more than five years competing as a pro, mainly on the developmental Mastercard Tour, now known as the Europro Tour.

The experience left him disillusioned – so much so that by 2003 he had quit the game. The high expense, coupled with limited prize money, made it extremely hard to make a living and the courses failed to inspire him.

He reflected: “They were brutal years and they killed all my enthusiasm. It was so sterile. Much of it was down south on new courses that had no character. It was just a means to an end and I wasn’t enjoying it. There was not the same camaraderie as in the amateur game.”

That said, Fenton accepts he never did himself justice. He said: “I didn’t play at my best. It’s a different mentality once you are playing for a living and it was something I never got comfortable with. Should it ever happen again, I think I would be better placed to handle it now. My whole outlook is totally different.”

Fenton knows he is still a long way off being able to think about a return to the professional ranks.

He said: “I would have to improve over the next few years. I am not getting any younger and I’m certainly not good enough now, so I’ll just try and keep improving. It’s at the back of my mind and I’ll see how it goes.”

His enjoyment of the game returned after he began playing again with old friends at Cleckheaton, where it all first started for him. He took a more ‘happy-go-lucky’ approach into his reintroduction to competitive golf in Bradford Union events.

It paid off handsomely as he helped Cleck to their first ever Scratch League title and won the Jim Wade Bradford Matchplay trophies. The 36-year-old had hopes of expanding his schedule, having been in winter training with the Yorkshire squad.

He had thought about competing in this year’s Brabazon (from June 24-27) in which, as a past champion, he gains automatic entry. But commitments to his golf betting website business means he still has to pick and choose his events and he won’t be entering it.

Whatever path he chooses, Fenton has clearly fallen back in love with the game that shot him to national glory 14 years ago.

Bradford team (v Sheffield): Matthew Atter (Bradford), Terry Brushwood (West Bradford), Nigel Colbeck (Cleckheaton), Mark Evans (Hollins Hall), Peter Fenton (Cleckheaton), James Firth (Baildon), Andy Fitzpatrick (Keighley), Chris Howe (Hollins Hall), Jamie Mountain (Cleckheaton), Paul Thomas (West Bradford), Andy Town (West Bradford), Darren Wallis (Rawdon). Reserve: Cec Bloice (Cleckheaton).