BJGT Players Championship MAJOR event report

The Springs Resort provided the venue, and what a superb venue it is….

Luckily, The Players Championship avoided some of the worst weather of the season by around 24 hours, as Sunday provided some lovely sunny conditions in the morning, and even a brief downpour in the afternoon didn’t dampen the relief at having good golfing conditions.

The Springs Resort provided the venue, and what a superb venue it is, so the BJGT would like to thank Ashley and Darwin Escapes for their support, along with Matt and his team for their help on the day.

The fabulous course proved to be a great test for the juniors although the resulting scores showed just how good this current crop of players are!

11-12 Division

There were a number of incredible finishes and results on the day, with the 11-12 Division leading the way as five shots separated the top 8 players with a 4-way tie for positions 2 to 4!

However, Alexander Mills avoided the congestion, as his superb 74 gave him a 2-shot winning margin, and his first Major title of the season, which moved him up to second in the Order of Merit table ahead of the Tour Championship on 17 October. Amazingly, Maxi Moore, Patrick Chenu, Ellis Kerr and George Molloy all carded rounds of 76, so the computer had some work to do to give us the trophy places, with Maxi grabbing second to secure his place at the top of the OOM and Patrick taking third, as the final standings behind Maxi will go down to the wire at the Tour Championship.

13-14 Division

Will Bailey claimed his second Major title of the year in the 13-14 Division, adding The Players to the BJGT Masters to move back up to second on the Order of Merit table, but this was only after a countback decision over Harry Thomas, as they both signed for rounds of 75 at the head of the field, meaning Harry settled for the runner-up trophy, as a 6 at the last proved costly. There was then a 3-way countback required to decide the final podium place, with James Stocks, Arun Ayaru and Alex Alder all carding 78, as the incredible results continued, with James coming out on top to take third place, based on the back 9 although his front 9 did include an eagle 3.

The top 3 places in the 13-14 Division Order of Merit will be decided at the Tour Championship, as four players battle it out in the final standings.

Junior Open Division

The Girls Gross Junior Open Division saw Ellie Lichtenhein return to form to secure her second Major title of the season at The Players Championship, by firing the best gross score of the day. Her round started with a birdie and ended in 74 strokes, which gave her an 8-shot cushion back to Una Gibson, who put in a solid performance in carding an 82 and finished inside the Top 10 overall too.

In the Girls Net Junior Open Division, two players from Harewood Downs put in fine displays to take the top two places: Ajuni Bains had her biggest and best result of the season, as she made a Major her first win of the season with a superb 69, closely followed home by Amelie Jones just a single shot behind, who was left thinking what might have been after a brilliant front 9.

James Brash made it two Major wins on the bounce, as he added The Players Championship to the Rai Challenge that he won last month, in a storming end to the season for him in the Boys Junior Open Gross Division. His round of 72 included four birdies in a row from the third, in a blistering front 9. He then held on through the back 9 to land the title by two shots from Sam Epstein, who came back from a difficult start to card three birdies on his front 9. Sachin Kohli finished just a single shot further back after signing for a 79.

Freddie Raven continued his great run of form to add a first Major title to his collection in the Boys Net Division, as he produced a fine 68, including two birdies in his last four holes, to take The Players Championship title ahead of Sachin Kohli, who had to settle for the runner-up trophy after his round of 72. Josh Saw ended the day in third place with his 74 getting the better of Kaiden Ironside’s matching score based on his better back 9.

6 & Under Division

In the 6 & Under Division, Brody MacIver made it an almost unbelievable four Major wins from five this season in one of the most dominant seasons we’ve seen on the BJGT, although he was again pushed hard by Zachary Blayney, who has had a fantastic second half of the season.

Brody fired a brilliantly consistent round of 38 (+2) that consisted of just two dropped shots to give him a 2-shot win over Zachary, while Hamza Marfleet showed that he is going to be one to watch next season in this age group, as he took third place, after yet another multiple score countback decision was required, as Jack Proctor and Fraizer Harris matched his 42.

Brody has the Order of Merit all tied up, but behind him places are not quite decided with more Major points on offer at the Tour Championship.

7-8 Division

Leo Boniface became a first time Major winner, and deservedly so, after a one-under round of 35 gave him The Players Championship title in the 7-8 Division.

Leo’s opening blitz of three birdies in his first four holes was enough to earn him a single shot victory over Ruaan Vamadevan, whose birdie – birdie finish just fell short of getting him to the head of the field, but which did earn him the countback decision for second place over Mihir Pasura and Freddie Buck, who both matched his level par round of 36. Mihir grabbed the final trophy place in third based on the final six holes.

Ruaan takes just a 9-point lead over Marcus Karim into the Tour Championship at the top of the Order of Merit in what will be a nail biting finish.

9-10 Division

Arguably the round of the day came from Oliver McDonnell in the Boys 9-10 Division, as he got to 3-under through 5, dropped a shot on the 6th but parred in to finish with a superb 2-under total of 34 adding The Players Championship to his Wales Open Major title this season. Zahn Bopiah, playing with Oliver in the final group, had a solid round of 38 to add the runner-up trophy to his cabinet and the points to his Order of Merit total in his quest for the overall title, which he currently leads. On an incredible day for tied scores, Rhys Hughes and Nathan Nolan followed the trend by handing in cards of 40, in the hunt for the final trophy place, with Rhys getting the nod based on the final six holes.

The Girls 9-10 Players Championship title went to Emily-May Clements, as she landed a first Major and her biggest win of the season after her round of 46 gave her a commanding victory over her rivals.

The 2021 BJGT season is now coming to an end, with the Tour Championship and the eagerly anticipated trip to the Foxhills Resort in Surrey, where we will be taking over all three courses in less than 2 weeks’ time.

Final invites have now been sent, based on the Order of Merit standings after the final event, The Players Championship, so we know that the excitement and nerves will be building as we approach the big day.