The British JGT Open – the first Major of the year and what an absolutely stunning inaugural event!
Sponsored by Rattan Garden Furniture Ltd, the trophy table was fabulous and the prize table more than matched, as some amazing gifts were handed out, so huge thanks go out to them for the generous support!
Titleist have also kindly provided a fantastic prize, a voucher for one custom fit wedge for a division winner (divisions 9-10 and above) at each Major this season – 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.
Rochester & Cobham Park were the perfect hosts, a wonderful, friendly golf club with a beautiful course to match. We are most grateful to Junior Organiser, Richard Jarmak, for organising help on the day, from starters on the first tee, to Captains to present the trophies and prizes.
The rough was high and the greens firm, so accuracy and a good short game were the order of the day. The weather could not have been better – glorious sunshine all day, so sun cream, water and often umbrellas were a must
11-12 Category
The 11-12 Division had the honour of teeing it up first and Justin Chenu lead the way from Group 1 to the top of the leaderboard once again: his fine round of 77 gave him a 3-shot victory over Finley White who, in turn, finished 2-shots ahead of Ellis Kerr, who edged a countback decision for third over Michael Haywood and Justin’s brother Patrick.
In addition, Justin took the considerable armful of prizes for the Nearest-the-Pin after his approach on the second hole.
And to end his amazing day, Justin also won the custom fit Titleist wedge voucher, incredibly, with the first pick of the day from 10 tees!
13-14 Category
The fireworks on the course came mainly from the 13-14 Division, as Will Bailey and Monty Holcombe went head-to-head and produced superb rounds of 69 (-2) and 70 (-1), respectively, meaning that Will deservedly took the spoils in the first Major of the year, ahead of Monty in second, and Joseph Sidwell, who came home in third.
Joseph, however, improved his day by winning the Nearest-the-Pin for the division.
9-10 Category
AJ Van Emmenis matched the best round of the day, as his brilliant 2-under total of 35 in the 9-10 Division gave him an incredible 5-shot victory to take the first Major title of the year, ahead of Alexander Dunmall making his first start of 2021 who grabbed second place, with Brendan Riff taking third place just a single shot further back.
7-8 Category
The 7-8 Boys Division was an awful lot closer, as single shots separated the top three places: Ruaan Vamadevan (42) made it three wins from three starts this season and added a Major title to his tally, ahead Leo Boniface (43) in second, and Layton Riches (44) in third, who edged a countback decision over Toby Chahrvin.
Leo Boniface took the Nearest-the-Pin prizes with a fantastic approach into the 8th hole, which left him about a foot away from the hole.
In the 7-8 Girls Division, Jasmine Ren’s took the win and with it a fabulous bespoke crystal trophy and ‘MAJOR Winner’ head cover.
6 & Under Category
Brody MacIver was again on top form, as he’s proving very difficult to catch in the 6 & Under division, by taking the first Major title of the year, posting 43. This left Jack Proctor in second after his round of 51, ahead Fraizer Harris in third on 54.
Jack produced the ‘shot-of-the day’ to claim the win for Nearest-the-Pin, which left him a ‘tap in’ birdie on the 8th hole.
Junior Open Category
The Junior Open Girls Division was dominated by Heidi Man, as she claimed a Major double with her 82 good enough to take the Gross Division. This gave her an impressive Net total of 68, which also secured top spot.
Chrisha Thapa followed Heidi home in the Gross Division after her round of 87, while Amelia McGinty took her first podium finish of the season to take home the runner-up trophy for her Net 69.
The Boys Net Division Major leaderboard was topped by Sam Cox, who fired a fine 68 to give him a one-shot winning margin over Robert Payne in second, as he came out on top of a countback with Ali-Abbas Haji after matching 69s.
Jack Lee returned to the Tour for the first time this season and promptly secured a Major victory on home soil, but he did need a countback decision to go his way, as he and James Parsons both produced rounds of 72, while Tyler Weaver took third place after his round of 73.
Sam Cox also added the Nearest-the pin prize to his daily haul as he finished closest to the cup on the second.
