BJGT Summer Cup: report, results and photos

The BJGT Summer Cup, this year at Belton Woods in Lincolnshire, was another greatly enjoyable and exciting 3-day event!

Belton Woods was the perfect host venue, a wonderful hotel with fantastic facilities for everyone, players and non-players, and two great courses that we took over for the three days offering superb challenges for every division. Huge thanks go to the entire team at Belton Woods for all their help in making the event a resounding success!

The Summer Cup is as much about the social aspect as it is about the golf, and while the results and OOM points are obviously important for the players, it allows adults and kids alike to make new friends off the course, share stories, socialise or play in a relaxed environment, and we hope you agree that this is what makes the BJGT so special.

On the course the results were incredible, with no fewer than three divisions being decided by countback, as some players were so close that three days of competition could not separate them.

Junior Open Category

Tyler Weaver got his first official World Amateur Golf Ranking Points in the Boys Junior Open Gross Division, as his bogey-free 69 on the final day saw him overturn a 5-shot deficit to Micah Blowers after the first two days. They tied on 218 and required a countback to separate them, with Tyler’s rounds of 75, 74 and 69 giving him the narrowest of winning margins over Micah’s 73, 71 and 74. Billy Gunyon had the best round of the week, as he fired an almost flawless 68 on Day 2 to move up the leaderboard after a disappointing 86 in Round 1, and his 75 on the final day saw him edge past Lucas Dennison into third, again after a countback, as they posted a matching total of 229.

Heidi Man claimed the Girls Gross division with three consistent rounds of 87, 86 and 87 giving her a total of 260 and a 2-shot winning margin over Mia Ingham in second who, after rounds of 82 and 83, led going into the final round, but struggled on Day 3 to a 97, meaning that she had to settle for the runner-up place.

The Boys Net Division was topped by Ben Benetar, as he led from start to finish, backing up a fine 68 on Day 1 with two solid rounds of 72 and 70 to give him a total of 210 and a 6-shot winning margin over Sachin Kohli, whose final round of 72 was enough to move him up from third. Hayden Dowler slipped to a 76 after rounds of 69 and 73 over the first two days saw him share the lead with Ben going into the final day, as Sachin sat in third after starting with rounds of 74 and 70.

However, the girls dominated the overall Net standings, as the top two in the Girls Division also finished as the top 2 in the combined standings at the end of the week.

Caitlin Garrard should see her handicap cut, as she fired three superb rounds, improving every day, as she posted 69, 68 and 67 over the three days to deservedly take the title from Amelia McGinty, who continued her good run of form to take second, as she recovered from a 74 on Day 1 to post rounds of 67 and 68 when it really mattered.

13-14 Category

The Boys 13-14 Division was another incredibly close affair, as the result swung one way and then the other, with the boys switching positions over the course of the three days.

Ronnie Groves and Theo Morris ended the week at the top of the table, tied on 232, as they were the second division to require a countback to decide the title. Ronnie struggled to an 82 on Day 2 but surrounded that with rounds of 76 and 74, whereas Theo was slightly more consistent, another to improve every day, with rounds of 79, 78 and 75. However, the countback went against him by virtue of Ronnie’s better final day by a single shot. Isaac Jones took third place on the final day, with his rounds of 83, 73 and 77 giving him a final total of 233, just a single shot off the top 2, but edging him past Jo Austin, as he couldn’t back up an excellent 71 in Round 2.

11-12 Category

The 11-12 Division saw the most dramatic ending, as Maxi Moore drained a monster putt on the final green to take the win by a single shot from Justin Chenu, as they showed just what a 3-day competition is all about!

Maxi had a 3-shot lead going into the final day after rounds of 73 and 80 compared with Justin’s 81 and 75. Justin however pushed him all the way, as he fired a fine 77 under real pressure to give him a 3-round total of 233, meaning that Maxi needed his long final putt to drop to give him a 79 on the day and a 1-shot victory with a combined score of 232. Alexander Mills hung on to take third place, as he added matching rounds of 84 on Days 2 and 3 to go with a brilliant 76 on Day 1 for an aggregate score of 244, as he carried on his return to form this season.

9-10 Category

Fraser Walters produced an incredible 4-under round of 32 on Day 2 to really take control of the Boys 9-10 Division, but he was made to work hard for the win by Alfie Turner who made sure it wasn’t an easy ride. Fraser added rounds of 36 and 40 either side of the 32 (108) while Aflie fired rounds of 37, a superb -2 round of his own of 34 on Day 2, and 39 on Day 3 (110) to finish just two shots behind Fraser. AJ Van Emmenis, like Alfie, impressively signed for three sub-40 rounds (38, 39, 38) on his way to a 115 total.

Georgia Groves took the girls 9-10 Summer Cup title, and deservedly so, as she showed what a fantastic little player she is after firing rounds of 45, 46 and 44 to give her a total of 135 to also more than mix it with the boys.

7-8 Category

Arguably the tensest division on the final day was the Boys 7-8s, as four players were within a couple of shots of the lead going into the final round. Mihir Pasura (38 & 42) led the way but only just from Marcus Karim (39 & 43), Ruaan Vamadevan (42 & 40) and The Oderinde (41 & 41). It was Mihir who produced his best round of the week on the final day with a 37 giving him a total of 117 ahead of Ruaan who took 39 shots in the final day to finish second on 121, with Marcus Karim completing the podium with his round of 40 giving him a total of 122 for the three days.

The Girls 7-8s was also very competitive, with Stella Walters (45, 43, 40) and Maybel Brooks (43, 42, 43) also requiring countback to decide the winner, after matching 128 over three days. Stella edged the win and, impressively, the girls took fourth and fifth place, respectively, overall in the mixed 7-8 Division.

6 & Under Category

Brody MacIver would have been the 6 & Under favourite coming into the event and he certainly lived up to the billing with rounds of 40, 39 and 41 giving him a fabulous event total of 120 and the Sumer Cup title. Behind him, Elliott Bond was another to improve every day, as he handed in cards of 55, 52 and 51 to give him a total of 158 and the runner-up trophy, while Freddie Neal grabbed third place by a single shot from Ellie Wang, with rounds of 54, 53 and 56.