Junior Open Category
James Brash claimed his first Major title with a win in the Boys Junior Open Gross Division, and while it was a round of two halves, which included a run of four straight birdies on the front 9, he carded a very impressive 72 to take the win by two shots from Sachin Kohli, who fired a fine 74 to take the runner-up trophy and prizes. Thomas White finished a further two shots back in third place.
Sachin went one better in the Net Division however, as he took the title, and maximum Order of Merit Points, with his 74 resulting in a Net 67, but only after a countback with Josh Saw, who matched the 67 having narrowly missed out on a Gross podium place. Sachin and Josh finished four shots clear of third, as Ben Benetar took the final trophy place, having got the better of the countback decision over James, as they both ended with rounds of 71.
Renoa Azmir dominated the Girls Junior Open Divisions, as she took the top spot in both the Gross and Net results tables after her round of 84 (net 73), giving her a 5-shot victory over Connie Bailey in the Gross Division and a 4-shot margin in the Net Division, as Connie had to settle for both runner-up prizes on the day.
13-14 Category
Antoni Hawkins secured his first win of the season, and what a great time to do it, as he put in a Major performance to take the Boys 13-14 title with an impressive round of 74, which gave him a 5-shot cushion over Bailee Taylor and Henry Bale, who were another pair who required separating on the day by a countback after their rounds of 79, with Bailee taking the runner-up place by virtue of an impressive back 9 of 35 (+1).
11-12 Category
Maxi Moore was at it yet again in the Boys 11-12 Division, as he holed another monster putt on the last to take his second Major of the year by one shot, having done the same at the BJGT Masters earlier in the season. This left him with a total of 76, which just edged out Alexander Mills, who was left in second place, with Patrick Chenu coming home in third another single shot back, which likely secured his place in the Tour Championship.
9-10 Category
The 9-10 Division saw an incredible 3-way tie for the Top 3 places, as Arjun Sawhney, Zahn Bopiah, and Darragh Sidhu all signed for rounds of 41. The countback (over the last 6 holes) gave Arjun his first victory of the season and with it a Major title, not forgetting maximum OOM points, as he jumps to 12th on the table in search of a Tour Championship place. Zahn placed second, but he and Darragh were only separated by the final hole in an incredible finish to the event.
7-8 Category
Marcus Karim and Freddie Buck, in the Boys 7-8 Division, were another pair who could not be separated on the course, as the two went head-to-head and fired matching scores of 38 to head the field. The now well-used countback calculation gave the Rai Challenge title to Marcus based on the final 6 holes, which also moved him back to the top of the Order of Merit table in what will be an incredible finish in this division come the Tour Championship. Freddie had to settle for the runner-up trophy and prizes, but it was still a fantastic effort, while Mihir Pasura took third place, two shots behind the leading pair after his round of 40.
Maybel Brooks claimed the Girls Division Major title, and deservedly so, as she finished fourth overall after her round of 41 in what has been a fabulous season for her. Maybel also won a prize from Titleist UK & Ireland, making it a great day all round!
6 & Under Category
The 6 & Under Division saw Brody MacIver add a third Major title to his collection for the season, as he again topped the leaderboard to take the Rai Challenge honours after his round of 41. However, he was only three shots ahead of Zachary Blayney, who certainly made him work for it, as his 44, which included seven pars out of the nine holes, left him in second, while Jack Proctor completed the Top 3 with his round of 48.
