The British JGT Masters, which was kindly sponsored by Rattan Garden Furniture Ltd, took place at Old Fold Manor, a little gem of a golf club in Barnet.
The weather was perfect, slightly cooler than the previous few days, with a gentle breeze, leaving the greens to be the main defence of the course, and boy did they defend it well!!
The course provided a wonderful test for all the players, more than suitable for our second Major of the season, as the fast greens proved very tricky indeed, so our thanks go to Sudip Roy for all his help in organising the event.
Titleist again kindly provided a fantastic prize, a voucher for one custom fit Vokey wedge for a division winner (divisions 9-10 and above) – this will be decided by a random ‘pick-a-tee’ draw by each Major winner. If a Major winner from divisions 6 & Under or 7-8 picks the winning tee, they will win a box of Pro V1 balls and a Tour Rope Flat Bill Hat, also courtesy of Titleist.
9-10 Category
A 2-tee start from 9 am meant that we had the 9-10s starting on the beautiful ,but tricky Par 3 10th, which also happened to be the nearest-the-pin hole. Zahn Bopiah’s opening tee shot turned out to be the winning attempt!
AJ Van Emmenis made it two Major wins from two, as he returned to winning ways to claim the 9-10 Division, and the bonus OOM points, but this time only by a single shot after a brilliant 37, as playing partner Oliver McDonnell pushed him all the way, while Rhys Hughes finished in third again by just a single shot in a very exciting finish.
Georgia Groves took the Girls Division by a clear margin, as she carded a round of 48 to take the largest of the wonderful glass trophies, as Emily-May Clements came home in second place after her round of 58.
Junior Open Category
The Junior Open Division started the Masters on the other side of the course from the 1st, meaning that the nearest-the-pin was just after the turn for them and it was Freddie Sartoris who fired the winning shot into the green to claim the Pro-V1s.
Thomas White and Dawson Langan produced matching 76s at the head of the field, so required a countback to separate them, with Thomas just getting the decision over the back 9 to take the inaugural Masters title. Jake Hinton finished with a 77 to take third, meaning yet again a single shot separated the top 3 places.
The Net Division was topped by Miles Jarmak from Group 1, as his round of 70 was unsurpassed by anyone in the next 12 groups proving how good the round was and just how tricky the course was playing. Thomas added a runner-up trophy to his daily haul, as his 76 resulted in a net 71, while Ben Benetar took the final trophy place coming out on top of a 4-way tie on 72.
The Girls Gross Division saw Eleanor Lichtenhein claim her second victory on the BJGT and doing it in a Major was a cracking way to do it, as her total of 81 left Renoa Azmir (88) in second.
Eleanor also won the Vokey wedge donated by Titleist, as she picked the correct tee in the random draw to really make it a day to remember.
Sapphire Boyce had her first victory of the season in the Girls Net Division, as she produced a fine round of 73 to finish one stroke in front of Alicia Ibekwem on her BJGT debut.
13-14 Category
The Boys 13-14 Division saw Harry Thomas claim the nearest-the-pin prize and take home the dozen Titleist balls.
Edward Mason produced a superb 74, even with a difficult finish, to deservedly take the inaugural 13-14 Masters title from Arun Ayaru in second, who overcame Ronnie Groves in a countback decision after they both signed for 78s.
11-12 Category
A brilliant chip-in birdie on the final green saw Maxi Moore take the 11-12 title by a single shot in an incredible finish on the 18th, ahead of Ellis Kerr in second, as he continued his very consistent form, and Luca Randall returned to the podium to take third place, again only a singe shot further back.
Ellis added the nearest-the-pin prize to his take home prizes, as his approach also resulted in a nice birdie.
7-8 Category
There was another single shot winning margin in the 7-8 Division, who played 10 holes, as the BJGT continues to showcase the best of junior talent in the UK across every age group. Freddie Buck topped this talented bunch to take the Major title, as his 43 (+2), left him one shot clear of Leo Boniface in second, while Oliver Smith secured third place along with the nearest-the-pin prize after his approach to 5ft on the 10th.
6 & Under Category
What else but a single shot victory to round off the British JGT Masters in the youngest age group, as the 6 & Under Division also served up a treat, as Fraizer Harris produced a wonderful 53 for the 10 holes to take a Major title and end Brody MacIver’s winning streak, who took the runner-up trophy on this occasion.
Elijah Gibbons added a dozen Titleist Pro-V1s to his bag, as his strike on the final hole gave him the nearest-the-pin prize for the 6 & Under Division.
