Welcome to the BLCGA Junior News Page 2009 |
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31.10.2009: INAUGURAL PYTHONS V SHARKS MATCH: When Half term week was mild and sunny and we were treated to a beautiful day on Friday 30th October for the inaugural junior girls team match. The event was organized by Vanessa and Fiona, and Aylesbury Vale Golf Club very kindly provided courtesy. Read more | |
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04.10.2009: CLARE & JULIA WIN THE SUE PATERSON SALVER: When Clare Hillier from John O'Gaunt teamed up with immediate Past Ladies Captain Julia Cottenden in the Sue Paterson Salver, the instructions were simple. The pair were so determined to post a score that would beat sister Sophie and mum Carol playing together in the group behind, that they posted a score good enough to beat the entire field. Click here for the full report and prize winners. | |
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27.09.2009: COUNTY GIRLS TRAINING: The 14 girls aged between 7 - 15 turned out on a bright sunny Sunday afternoon for a two and a half hour training session with Geraint Dixon and Ed Neale at Bedfordshire Golf Club.
As it was their third session the two teams of seven were taken down onto the Academy Course for a Texas Scramble to enable them to improve their course management and for some play a course for the first time. |
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06.09.2009: JUNIOR JAMBOREE: The Junior Jamboree was held at Great Yarmouth and Caister, with the Bedfordshire girls playing matches simultaneously against Suffolk and Essex. A tough format that us adults would fail to master, but the girls all took it in their stride. Click here for pictures and the full report. | |
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25.08.09: SOPHIE TAKES REGIONAL TITLE: 15-year old Sophie Hillier from John O'Gaunt went to the East Region Junior Championships in sparkling form, buoyed by a stunning victory in her Ladies Club Championship. She shot 78 in the morning, 2 under her new 8 handicap and then followed it up with a quality score of 75 in the afternoon, cutting her handicap again to 7, earning her 6th place in the gross competition and bagging her the Nett Championship prize. Fiona Cooper from Beds & County also featured in the prizes, finishing a very creditable 3rd nett. Nice one girls! |
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12.07.2009: KATIE MAKES IT 3 IN A ROW: It is 18 year since Juliette Roberts won 3 consecutive Junior County Championship titles. Katie Burman from John O'Gaunt tried to emulate the feat at Dunstable Downs. She won the title in 2007 and in 2008, but her 2009 season has been interrupted by A-levels and glandular fever. The high wind made the round even more energy sapping, but Katie battled through and held on for an excellent 77 to win by 3 shots from Megan Birdsey, who took the net prize. Sophie Hillier from John O'Gaunt took the Under 16 prize with a gross 92. Click here for the full report. |
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11.07.2009: TOUGH MATCH AGAINST NORFOLK: Bedfordshire Junior girls took on Norfolk in a league match at Bedfordshire Golf Club on Saturday 11th July. Despite some excellent performances by the Bedfordshire girls Norfolk proved a very strong team. Their two main players - Rebecca Heales and Amber Ratcliffe - had played for the seniors in County week where Rebecca had been undefeated in all her matches over the 5 days of competition and Amber had only lost one match and that on the 18th hole. Megan Birdsey from Bedfordshire gave Rebecca an excellent match taking the contest to the 17th green but overall Norfolk's strength prevailed and they were the winners 6 -0. |
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05.07.2009: 2 PART FUN FESTIVAL PROVES A GREAT SUCCESS: Over 30 Junior Girls with high or no handicap took part in the Fun Festival at Stockwood Park on 5th July. Congratulations to organisers Dave Sweetnam and Vicky Astley, who put on a great day with help from professional Matt Green and The Golf Foundation. Click here for the full report. |
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20.04.2009: BETHANY TRIUMPHS AT PAST CAPTAINS: More young talent emerged from the first junior event of the season as 11 year old Bethany Healey (The Bedford) went a step further than her 3rd place in her first ever County competition last year, to record her first ever win in this year's County Past Captain's Salver held at Tilsworth GC with a winning 37 pts score. In breezy, dry and hard ground conditions scoring was not easy on the small Tilsworth greens. Runner Up Amber Hunt (Caddington) (36 pts) must have felt that her strong 7 point finish over the closing 2 holes might have been enough, but the last pair of youngsters Claire Wilkie (Aspley Guise) and Bethany both breezed in with 22 points over the closing 9 holes. Katharine Carragher (John O'Gaunt) held an early lead in the Clubhouse on 32 pts before finishing in 3rd place. Gill Smith represented the Past Captains at the presentation and handed out the prizes. |
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18.04.2009: LIZI MAKES IT TO NJCAA FINALS: Leighton Buzzard's Lizi Sweetnam has qualified for the final of the NJCAA - National Junior Colleges Golf Championship that is to be held at The LPGA International course in Daytona Beach, Florida next month. She did so by getting her 4th top 10 finish in six events, coming 5th with scores of 83/83 at the Region 2 Championship held at Crimson Creek Golf Club, El Reno in Oklahoma. Lizi was the best placed individual to qualify. |
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10.04.2009: VANESSA ACES 9TH AT LEIGHTON BUZZARD: Vanessa Jay from Leighton Buzzard is celebrating her first hole in one, in a match at her home club. The par 3 9th measures 172 yards, but all those who've played it know it plays longer as it is uphill, and a tough green to hit. Not so for our Vanessa, who dispatched a five iron straight into the hole. | |
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29.03.2009: LIZI IN ANOTHER TOP 10 FINISH IN AMERICA: Lizi Sweetnam from Leighton Buzzard, a freshman student at Seminole State College, Oklahoma, achieved another top-10 placing at the South Central Kansas Spring Invite at Winfield Country Club. Lizi, who enrolled in January this year, had scores of 91 and 86, which earned her joint seventh place in a field of 44 players. If you think the scores look high, think again. The picture is of the tornado on the horizon as the girls played!!!!...and we think its windy here! | |
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06.03.2009: LIZI OFF TO FLYING START IN THE US: In her first tournament, the Lion Classic, was held at Hardscrabble GC in Fort Smith, Arkansas she had a top 10 finish and was the leading player in the Seminole team finishing 8th. This week she travelled to play in the Tyler Junior College Invitational tournament held on the slick greens at Eagle's Bluff Golf and Country Club in Tyler, Texas. She improved further with a second top ten finish and again led the team home finishing 5th individually, behind another English player, international Katie Mundy, who won the event. The College team have finished 3rd overall in both opening competitions | |
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09.01.2009: LIZI GAINS AMERICAN SCHOLARSHIP: Congratulations and Good Luck to Lizi Sweetnam from Leighton Buzzard as she starts her golf scholarship in America. Lizi follows in the footsteps of clubmate Heather Mutton, who took her place in the American Collegiate system last year, and is loving it! |
