The Burhill junior golf team returned home as champions after claiming a hard-earned triumph in the Home Nations Inter-Club Junior Team Golf Championship at Morgado Golf & Country Club in the Algarve, Portugal.
The Surrey team held their nerve over four days of competitive match play to claim the club’s first international victory, beating off competition from the best junior teams from England, Wales and Scotland.
Qualifying for the event as runners-up in the England National finals, Burhill’s victory represents the culmination of months of hard work and dedication from the talented young players and their coaches.
The championship final was an all-English affair, with Burhill prevailing with a 3.5-2.5 win against their compatriots from Huddersfield who had previously pipped them to top spot in the England National finals.
Speaking about the team’s performance, Burhill Junior Organiser, Angie Crockett said: “The team were a credit all week to their parents, to Burhill and to the game of golf. I had so many compliments about the way they played the game, their professionalism, sportsmanship and etiquette on and off the course. I’m a very proud Junior Organiser and parent!”
Team captain, Sasha Crockett, was awarded the Paul Casey Award for the best category 1 player after she remained unbeaten all week with three wins and a halve from her four matches; the only player in the field to achieve that. “What a team, what a week. I could not be prouder of the fantastic performance the whole team put in over the tournament,” she said. “We had an amazing week, played some spectacular golf and made lots of friends on and off the course.”
The Steve Redgrave Award for the best category 2 player went to Ben Wilson and Jess Adams was also recognised for her sterling performances with the trophy for Best Performing Girl. After the presentation of the individual awards, the Burhill juniors went up as a team to collect their overall accolades – they all received a Cleveland wedge, balls, towels and individual keepsake trophies.
Dubravka Griffiths, General Manager at Burhill Golf Club, commented on the success of the team: “We are so proud of the performance of our young players and everything that they have achieved this season. At Burhill we invest significant amounts into our Junior Development Programme each year which is essential for us to help grow and promote the game. It’s brilliant to see that this investment is paying off and leading to fantastic success stories such as this.”
The full team consisted of: Sasha Crockett, aged 16 (Captain); David Gurr, aged 18; Jess Adams, aged 17; Matthew Hawke, aged 15; Thomas Hawke, aged 15; Harley Yates, aged 15; Elliot MacGregor, aged 15; Ben Wilson, aged 14.