Golf At Goodwood Juniors ‑ The Kennels Cup

14 juniors entered the competition which an individual medal format was played on the Downs Course, from the yellow and red tees.

Scoring was varied, most likely due to the inconstant wind conditions but four scores of 36 points or better were managed. An incredible 11 birdies were recorded during the round with four of them by Xan Westerdijk (9) who showed fantastic scoring ability over the back nine. Unfortunately, trouble at the 12th and 13th holes left room for others to pass him by but Westerdijk has certainly made himself ‘one to watch’ for the summer season.

His playing partners, Yasmin Hang (9) and Alfie Simpson (7) also struggled to claw more than a single point each on these holes along with the rest of the field. This was all except for one young man, Jamie Burchell (11), the only junior in the field who was still gaining scoring momentum after a 19 point front nine. Burchell was the only competitior to birdie the par three 12th, also the only recorded two of the day.

It was a golfer in the group behind Burchell who had other ideas, William Groom (3) chipped away at Burchell’s lead with a three point birdie and a three point par at the 13th and 14th holes. Burchell, had been in 4th place after nine holes behind, Alfie Simpson (7), Josh McCartain (13) and Groom. However, he and Westerjijk were the only two competitors to better their front nine scores on the way back to the clubhouse and for Burchell, it was enough to see him over the line with a two point lead over Groom to become the 2017 holder of The Kennels Cup.