BJGT Tour Championship 2021: report, results and photos

Our season finale was again hosted by the wonderful Foxhills Resort in Surrey.

With three great courses, and a wealth of other facilities for our tournament families, the set-up is perfect for our flagship event. Huge thanks go to Foxhills for hosting us for the fourth consecutive year and to the Pro Shop and Events teams for all their help to make it yet another successful event!

The 9 hole Par 3 Manor course provided the test, twice over, for the 6 & Under Division, while the rest tackled either the Longcross or Bernard Hunt courses, so everyone who made the Tour Championship following a season-long Order of Merit, faced a challenging 18 holes to end 2021.

The weather was reasonably kind, a grey overcast day with the odd blue patch of sky and a slight breeze meant that conditions were playable and the opportunity was there for some good scores.

6 & Under Category

7-8 Category

9-10 Category

11-12 Category

The 11-12 Boys Division was the first out on the Longcross course, as the Top 9 players from the Order of Merit had secured their place in the Tour Championship. A countback was required to decide the Tour Championship winner, as Ellis Kerr and Justin Chenu both fired matching 77s to head the field. Ellis shook the habit of bad countback decisions, as he took this one by virtue of the better back 9, meaning that Justin had to settle for second place and the runner-up trophy, but this was good enough for him to leapfrog Ellis into second on the OOM table. Riley Banks also broke the 80 barrier to secure third place with his great round of 79 that gave him a nice trophy to end his season.

13-14 Category

The 13-14 Boys Division followed the 11-12s round the Longcross. Again, the Top 9 made it through from the Order of Merit table and with the highest handicap just 8, this was always going to be a very close affair and they certainly didn’t disappoint, as single shots separated each of the Top 3 places. Fred Gannon ended his 2021 season on a high with a superb Tour Championship winning round of 73 (+1), which included four birdies, to give him the top spot ahead of Oliver Baker, who fired a 74, also making four birdies in his round, but with one additional dropped shot had to settle for the runner-up place. Ronnie Groves took the final trophy position after his round of 75, which was plenty good enough to secure back-to-back overall OOM Tour Champion titles.

Junior Open Category

The Junior Open Division, the final 15 players on the course, fittingly brought the 2021 season to a close.

Two girls made the Tour Championship (Ellie Lichtenhein and Amelia McGinty) and Ellie claimed an impressive daily double by taking the honours in both the Girls’ Gross and Net Divisions, with her round of 77 (Net 74) ending Ellie’s 2021 BJGT season in style. The girls will no doubt relish the new, separate Girl Junior Open Division next season, as we look to do all we can to increase the opportunities for girls.

Ben Benetar really delivered when it mattered most in the Boys’ Net Division, as he was vying for the overall title on the final day and produced a fine round of 70, coming home in level-par, to end the season with a Major victory and the overall Tour Champion title. Maximus Maddocks followed him home in second two shots back, after his round of 72 gave him the runner-up trophy, while Thomas White fired a bogey-free, 2-under par back 9 to give him a round of 73 to take third place.

In the Boys’ Gross Division, Micah Blowers ended the season on a real high by adding the Tour Championship title to his CV and securing a second consecutive Order of Merit Tour Champion title. Micah’s 74 was enough to give him a single-shot victory over Thomas, who added a Gross runner-up trophy to his third place in the Net Division, while James Brash grabbed third place, just one shot further back after his 76, but this was good enough to move him up into second on the overall OOM table.