England triumph in YMG International Junior Pairs

Dateline: 25 November 2004

There was an exciting finish to the very first YMG International Junior Pairs tournament, held at the prestigious St Andrews Bay Golf Resort & Spa in Scotland.

Held over the immaculate Sam Torrance Links of the 5-star resort overlooking the bay of St Andrews, the event ran along side the adult International Pairs and was won by the team from Millfield Golf Complex in Lincolnshire, representing the North of England.

Northern lights shine
Pictured above, Joe Broadbent (13 years old), Mark Marshall (11), Harriett Wilson (10) and Aaron Nairn (7) put in an immaculate performance in the pairs scramble format, to register medal scores of 67 for the older pair and 70 for the younger duo to clock a winning total of 137 that was enough to collect the magnificent winners' trophies.

A new tournament for 2005, the YMG International Junior Pairs gave YMG junior golfers the chance to represent their YMG Academy and their country at St Andrews in Scotland, at the magnificent 5-star luxury St Andrews Bay Golf Resort and Spa.

Nationwide qualifiers
YMG clubs up and down the country ran club qualifiers with the aim of producing representative teams to go forward to their respective home nations finals, which were held during September. Each team was made up of at least one under 7 year old, an 8 to 11 year old and a player aged 12 and over. Each team also had to include one female player.

The winning teams from Northern and Southern England, Wales and Ireland were invited to play in final at St Andrews Bay on the renowned Torrance Course, designed winning Ryder Cup Captain Sam Torrance. The format was Team Texas Scramble, with the oldest two players playing together and youngest two players forming the second pairing.

Pressure all the way
Pressuring the winners all the way, the teams from Southern England, Wales and Ireland all made sure the Millfield team had to fight to the very last to ensure their title.

The Southern England team pairing of Chris Dodd (15) and Jordan Howlett (10) from Ferndown Forrest Golf Academy in Dorset put in a brilliant performance to register a magnificent 64 gross score, as they were expertly backed up by the younger pair from Ferndown Forrest of Kyra Horlock (9) and Cameron Bell (6) to secure second place.

Welsh dragons fight
Right on their tail however, were the team representing Wales. Cottrell Park's Katie Bradbury (11), Gareth Weeks (15), Louis Phillips (6) and Will Hoggett (11) also coped superbly with their first outing on a genuine seaside links course, as did Ireland's representatives, Deer Park Hotel & Golf Course's Stephen Ludgate, Vicky Ruttle, Alan Carroll and Stephen McDonald.

Result:

1. North of England (Millfield Golf Complex)
- Joe Broadbent, Mark Marshall, Harriett Wilson, Aaron Nairn.

2. South of England (Ferndown Forrest Golf Academy)
- Chris Dodd, Jordan Howlett, Kyra Horlock, Cameron Bell.

3. Wales (Cottrell Park Golf Club)
- Gareth Weeks, Will Howlett, Katie Bradbury, Louis Philips.

4. Ireland (Deer Park Hotel & Golf Course)
- Stephen Ludgate, Vicky Ruttle, Alan Carroll, Stephen McDonald.



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