The grand final of the 2024 PING Junior Masters took place at Close House yesterday, with over 70 junior golfers gathering to showcase their skills on the Northumberland club’s championship Colt Course.
In a thrilling and close contest, the winners of the six categories were separated by just three shots, with 10-year-old Havish Aravind from Brampton Golf Club in Cumbria being crowned as the overall champion with a Stableford score of 39 points.
Age group winners:
Boys U12 – Havish Aravind (Overall Champion)
Boys U18 – Henry Murphy
Girls U18 – Kayla Hill
Boys U15 – James Henderson
Girls U15 – Amelia Hothersall
Girls U12 – Lily Jane Morgan
Ryder Cup legend for former world No.1 Lee Westwood, Close House’s affiliated professional, was instrumental in the early development of the Junior Masters, and he was on hand to present the prizes to each category winner, as well as hosting a post-competition Q&A session, where the juniors were provided with valuable insights from his illustrious career.
“It is great to see so many junior golfers competing,” commented Westwood. “I’m thrilled to be involved with the series and it’s great to see how it has grown over the past seven years. Thanks to Close House, PING, and, of course the parents who have supported their children in their golfing journeys so far.”
Jonathan Lupton, managing director at Close House, added: “We are extremely proud to continue this legacy event which started when we hosted the 2017 British Masters Golf Tournament at the club. I would like to thank PING for their continued support of the event which looks to engage more juniors in the game we love.”
This year’s event once again saw PING provide all the prizes at the grand final, helping to make it a truly memorable experience for the juniors involved.
Dave Fanning, PING European Marketing Director, commented: “We’re delighted to support the PING Junior Masters and pleased we can provide support whilst increasing the outreach of junior golf. We applaud the work the team at Close House does on an annual basis to host this fantastic event.”
Qualifiers for the event took place from April to September across eight counties, stretching from Fife to Lincolnshire, offering young golfers a valuable taste of competitive golf. As part of the initiative, Close House also provides free coaching to over 1,200 schoolchildren, dedicated to discovering and inspiring the next generation of golfing talent.
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