Cornwall Golf Union
Course Record Breaker Oban Webber Wins Junior County Championship
Oban Webber, Lizzie Nile, Joab Atkins, Bobby Godfrey and Rory Hudson stole the honours yesterday at a very welcoming and well presented course at Falmouth as the club hosted the CGU & CLCGA Junior County Championships for 2024.
All five won respective County Championships on what was a very warm sunny day with extra water being delivered to competitors throughout. The heat certainly contributed to the number of players who flagged in the latter stages.
Avoiding any fatigue though was the top headline maker St Mellion's Oban Webber who, fresh from winning his clubs championship the previous weekend, shot a course record breaking first round of 67 and followed it with a second round 71 for a 2 under par total of 138, a truly special performance and a great few days for him. Oban's first round consisted of 5 birdies and 11 pars. and the second had four birdies in it. Oban is part of the St Mellion team heading to the headquarters of England Golf for the Junior Champion Club finals shortly and we all wish him and them well. Runner up to Oban and 10 shots back was Trethorne's Joab Atkins with rounds of 77 and 71 (+8), with Archie Haynes (Carlyon Bay) third 71 & 79 (+10). Oban's performance also saw him collect the U18 nett prize from Haynes and Ryan Tozer (Launceston) in third.
The U16 County Championship was won by Atkins with the scores outlined previously, his second round being the pick as he drew himself to the top of his age group category with a level par outward 9 holes and then dropped just the one shot on the back nine for an overall total of 148. Runner up to Atkins was Haynes (150) with Tiernan Wallwork (Tehidy Park) third just the one shot further back. In the nett element the winner was Haynes (who it has to be said also enjoyed a good day!) with runner up Tozer and Harry Lusher (St Mellion) in third spot.
2023 U14 County Championship winner Bobby Godfrey (St Enodoc) put in a very good performance to retain the trophy as he returned a round of 80 (8 pars and two birdies) to pip Rory Julian (Falmouth). Julian with an 81 was runner up by virtue of countback from Alfie Chapman (St Enodoc) and Rory Hudson (West Cornwall). The U14s played one round of 18 holes from the yellow tees.
In the U14 Nett third spot was claimed by Jack Hick (Truro) with a nett 62, runner up was Joseph Kevern (West Cornwall, nett 60) but the winner was 9 year old Jenson Davis (Falmouth) with a stunning nett 54.
The U12 County Championship winner was Rory Hudson (West Cornwall) but only after a play-off against eventual runner up Rory Julian (Falmouth). The pair had returned great rounds of 81 and thus went to a sudden death scenario. Both his excellent tee shots up the Falmouth first but Julian leaked his second into an unfortunate lie under a bush from which he only just managed to escape. Hudson put himself in the driving seat as he found the fringe of the putting surface and only a short distance from the pin. His 4 could not be matched by Julian. Both players had already claimed prizes in the U14 category and should be proud of their achievement.
Third spot in the U12 gross went to Ethan Kinski (St Mellion) with an 83, in itself an achievement as he had gone out in an 11 over 45 but came back in a two over 38.
Jenson Davis was the undisputed winner of the U12 nett with Julian second (67) and Hudson third (69).
The CLCGA Girls County Championship was won by Lizzie Nile (Carlyon Bay) in her final year as a junior. Lizzie shot a 4 over par score of 75 to win by 9 shots from clubmate Ella Grace Crocker on 84. Two others also shot 84 - Isabelle Wakeling (Falmouth) and Mabel Gosling-Brown (Perranporth) whilst Charlotte Jenkin (West Cornwall) shot 86. Eliza Grubert (St Austell) claimed the nett winners spot with a 64. Wakeling won the U15 element and Eva Newman (St Enodoc) claimed the Stableford prize.
Girls County Championship Gross Scores
Girls County Championship Nett Scores
All in all a great day which highlighted Cornwall has a great deal of talent in its midst. Harnessing this for the future now becomes the challenge.
Our thanks go to Falmouth GC for being excellent hosts, to Club Captain Phil Jones for welcoming the county competitions, players and parents and presenting prizes, to Richard Bunch, County Development Officer for starter duties, and to Simon Harper and Mo Hammond for their help with registration and scoring. Also to Andrew Kevern and Justin and Becky Williams who kept the players hydrated and monitored the field for pace of play and potential parental involvement, an area we are keen to ensure does not lead to penalties for competitors nor cause upset or discomfort to them. The feedback we have received from junior players suggests by far the majority favour playing 'alone'.
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