Goodwood boys miss out in Gloria final

The pair won through their qualifier on the Downs Course back in May, courtesy of an outstanding team display, which included a hole-in-one from the 11-year-old from Kirdford, West Sussex.

The Plaistow Kirdford Primary School 19-handicapper struck his memorable ace with a five iron at the 145-yard par three 17^th, which helped fire his team to a winning betterball score of 46 Stableford points.

It secured their place among eight other pairs from events around the country for the Grand Final at Stoke Park Country Club Spa & Hotel with a luxury golf holiday to the lavish Mediterranean five-star resort in Belek on the Turkish Riviera up for grabs for the overall winners. Golf at Goodwood’s James Webber and Dan Andrews also made the line-up as best runners-up from the series of competitions.

The Strides shot 39 Stableford points on the day and Webber and Andrews hit 42 points, but it was Scottish duo Kyle Lochhead and Stuart McMeekin, who carried off the top prize on the day with an unassailable 51-point haul.

Dad Nathan said: “It was a great opportunity to play at an amazing place like Stoke Park and we enjoyed the day. We played pretty well and Ethan showed no nerves. It’s great experience for the future for him to play in a competition like that.”

Ethan added: “It was brilliant to play there. I was taking photos all the way round and I loved it.”

The competition, held in association with Elegant Golf Resorts – specialists in luxury golf holidays – and Monarch, saw more than 500 amateur golfers enter and is set to return in 2017.

The Grand Final also included a visit from European Tour star Simon Dyson, who held a short-game clinic before the round and then also joined the groups out on the course before presenting the prizes.