DROITWICH Golf Club staged the 38th Junior Girls Open last Thursday evening, an event which acted as a Telegraph Vitality Junior Championship qualifier.
Traditionally the event is held on Maundy Thursday but the wet weather at the start of the year forced the club to move the event to a reserve date.
A total of 20 girl golfers representing 18 golf clubs from around the country took to the tee for the 18-hole competition.
Leading the field was last year’s gross winner Sophie Johnson from Enville Golf Club, playing off plus one.
The last to tee off in the competition were four girls who competed in last year’s nine-hole competition.
Two ten-year-old girls Madeline Badger (Halesowen) and Emma Buckley (Bromsgrove) would have played in the nine-hole competition on the original March date this year, but with commitment, dedication and hard work over the last two months they reduced their handicaps to 36 to compete in the 18-hole competition.
Similarly Holly Murphy (Kings Norton, 35) and Anabel Crowder (Gaudet Luce, 24) competed last year in the nine-hole competition which Anabel won with a 42 gross.
This year they came in with 2nd and 3rd nett prizes respectively, with Holly taking just 31 shots on the back nine.
The Cup was won by Isabelle Badger (Halesowen, 19) with a nett of 69 (Front 37, Back 32).
The 12-year-old has played in the Droitwich Junior Girls Open four times, firstly in the nine-hole competition aged eight and three times in the 18-hole competition.
Isabelle’s handicap has been cut to 18 following her winning round at Droitwich.
The gross competition was won by Izzy Lloyd (Tewkesbury Park, eight) with a gross score of 78 and was followed in second by Katie Symonds (Aston Wood, eight) with a gross score of 80.
Sophie Johnson (Enville, plus one) took third with 81.
The nine-hole competition is open to girls with a handicap of more than 36 or no handicap.
Twelve girls played off the blue tees and were accompanied by members of the ladies section who kept the scores.
Sydney Blanchenot, aged 11 from Gaudet Luce, won the competition with a gross score of 52 followed closely by Emily Nattrass, also from Gaudet Luce, with 54 who pipped Henrietta Geddes from Rutland Water on count back.
Izzy Lloyd and Isabelle Badger will be entered into The Telegraph Vitality Junior Golf Championship which takes place from November 19.
The 2019 Junior Girls Open will take place on April 18 with a reserve date of May 30.