[4] WINTER 2024 | NEWS GOLFNEWS.CO.UK
InBrief PEAFORD & BAILEY CLAIM TELEGRAPH JUNIOR TITLES ★ Surrey’s Annabel Peaford made history by becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Championship as 24 of the finest elite junior golfers from Europe competed in the 2023 edition of the event held at Quinta do Lago in Portugal. The 14-year-old, who is a member of Walton Heath Golf Club, led from the start of the 54-hole girls’ tournament held on the resort’s prestigious South Course. After her final-round 73 took her to three-under-par and a five-shot victory over Scotland’s Freya Russell and defending champion Sophia Fullbrook. In the boys’ tournament, Morton Bailey, 17, from West Hove Golf Club in East Sussex, also led from the start of the tournament with a final round 69 moving him to seven-under and to a six-shot win over Moseley’s Phillip Krone.
Penge ‘over the moon’ after securing DP World Tour card with victory at Challenge Tour final Sussex-based tour professional Marco Penge can look forward to competing alongside Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and all the top players in Europe after winning the Challenge Tour Grand Final and the season-long rankings to secure his place on next season’s DP World Tour. The 25-year-old from Horsham posted a closing three-under-par 69 to secure an emphatic six-stroke victory at the Challenge Tour’s seasonending tournament at Alcanada in Mallorca. He started the final round at the Spanish venue just one shot ahead of Frenchman Tom Vaillant, but a bogey at the par-five first hole saw his lead disappear. However, the Sussex man would bounce back brilliantly. Four birdies in seven holes around the turn and another at the par-four 15th saw him move clear at the top of the leaderboard and secure promotion to the DP World Tour. “To be standing here and saying I’ve won twice
on the Challenge Tour and also winning the rankings is hard to imagine,” Penge said after coming off the course. “It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I am absolutely over the moon. I believe in myself, and I know what I am capable of. I felt like arrived at the tournament in a good place with my game and I’m just really pleased that I could bring it all together.” ■ MARCO PENGE WON THE CHALENGE TOUR ORDER Recounting his final OF MERIT AND THE GRAND FINAL IN MALLORCA round, Penge added: “I made bogey on one after a terrible shot into the green. I find it Ranked in 60th place before his maiden always takes me three or four holes to settle win at the Open de Portugal at Royal in my rounds and that is something I need Óbidos in October, Penge who represents to improve on next season. But after three Caversham Heath GC, finished just seven holes I said to my caddie ‘I feel normal now, points ahead of South African Casey Jarvis so let’s try and get our foot down and move in the season’s rankings, with Spaniard as far forward as we can’ and obviously I Manuel Elvira finishing third. did that. I think birdieing the 7th settled A total of 21 DP World Tour cards were up everything and once I got through eight, I for grabs in Mallorca, with Welshman Stuart felt I was going to be fine.” Manley securing the final spot.
■ SIR NICK FALDO ON THE NEW PUTTING GREEN HE DESIGNED AT CHART HILLS
ENGLAND’S WOMEN SECURE HIGHEST EVER FINISH AT WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP ★ England’s women’s team secured their highest ever finish in the World Team Championships after they took fourth place in the three-day event held in Abu Dhabi. Lottie Woad (Farnham GC, Surrey), Charlotte Heath (Huddersfield GC, Yorks) and Caley McGinty (Knowle GC, Glouc) performed with distinction at Abu Dhabi Golf Club as the trio put England in contention for the Espirito Santo Trophy on the final day, before eventually finishing fourth – beating their previous best of seventh. In the individual standings, Woad finished on -9 in a tie for fourth after shooting under par in three of her four rounds.
USA ENJOYS EISENHOWER TROPHY SUCCESS ★ England’s men’s team finished tied 15th in the Eisenhower Trophy, as Tyler Weaver (Bury St Edmunds GC, Suffolk), Barclay Brown (Hallamshire GC, Yorks) and Jack Bigham (Harpenden GC, Herts) gave it their all at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Individually, Weaver finished tied 17th in the 108-player field after finishing -8 across the four days, while Jack Bigham (-3) and Barclay Brown (+1) aided the trio’s combined final score of -14. USA finished runaway winners with an impressive score of -36, while Norway and Australia were joint second on -26.
Faldo swings into Chart Hills to oversee latest improvements Sir Nick Faldo returned to the site of one of his oldest and most significant course design projects when he dropped into Chart Hills Golf Club In Kent last month to review the on-going upgrades to the course that he first designed back in 1993. Sir Nick took his first look at his newly designed practice putting green, reviewed ongoing projects and hosted a short game clinic for members during his time at the club. The putting green takes inspiration from Faldo’s favourite greens from his major wins Augusta, Muirfield and St Andrews – including its very own Valley of Sin, the undulating patch of fairway that fronts the 18th green of the iconic Old Course. In recent years, Chart Hills has undergone some extensive renovation work that has transformed the course into one of England’s finest. The club undertook a major fairway project in 2021, which saw every fairway sand-capped, creating a winterproof course, with excellent playability year-round. Following on from this, in August this year, the club announced the second phase of the renovation project, which includes the refurbishment of all the tee boxes and the completion of the new Sir Nick Faldodesigned par-3 course. Inspired by some of the short holes that Sir Nick has experienced during his career on tour, the par-3 course will have holes ranging from 50 to 100 yards, with specific design features dawning from iconic holes at St Andrews, Augusta National and the main course at Chart Hills.
LIV Golf to move UK event to JCB Golf & Country Club After hosting the inaugural LIV Golf event at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire in 2022 and returning to the Hemel Hempstead-based course again in 2023, next year will see the Saudi-funded tour move to a new venue in the UK – JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire. The full schedule for LIV Golf’s third season will feature 14 tournaments, with JCB signed up to host the UK leg of the international series from July 26-28. The event will see 48 players compete over three rounds of stroke play for a prize fund in excess of $25m across individual and team competitions. JCB Golf & Country Club is owned by British billionaire Lord Bamford, chairman of JCB, a manufacturer of equipment in construction and agriculture. The club’s ultra-exclusive course only opened four years ago but has already hosted a Legends Tour event for the past two years, but will most likely have to end that partnership given the current impasse that exists between the DP World Tour and LIV Golf. Centurion is to continue to host the UK leg of the Aramco Team Series, a Ladies European Tour competition which has been staged in the immediate week following the club’s hosting of the LIV Golf London event over the past two years. LIV Golf’s schedule will include a number of new stops in 2024, including Mayakoba in Mexico, Las Vegas in Nevada and South Korea. Valderrama in Spain will stay in the schedule for 2024, hosting a tournament from July 12-14, while new venues in Nashville and Houston will be among the six events due to take place in the US, with Doral in Miami, being one of the venues to give way.
■ JCB GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB WILL HOST A LIV GOLF EVENT NEXT SEASON
