The fifth and final round of the Dandara Junior Order of Merit, held on Sunday at Mount Murray Golf Club, was played in bright sunshine, and it was a day when local course knowledge proved to be very rewarding.
Rowany’s Jack Gilbert took first place in the Under 18s section with an 18-hole round of 79 gross/76 nett, with Mount Murray’s own Tom Cain second with 105 gross/93 nett.
Another Mount Murray player, Sam Crawford, took the honours in the Under 14s competition with an 18-hole round of 91 gross/73 nett, ahead of Peel’s Lauren Haxby, who moved up from the 9-hole category to the full 18 for the first time and scored 117 gross/81 nett.
The 9-hole competition was won by Kase Phinney, also from Mount Murray, who secured a fantastic 2 on the 6th hole to take victory, with 11 points, from Ramsey’s Jack Higgins, who scored 7 points. In the 6-hole competition, Sam's sister Jenna Crawford, of Mount Murray, took the top place with a score of 15 points, ahead of Douglas’s Liam Hunt, who scored 13 points.
The Flag Competition was a very close contest with two players from King Edward Bay reaching the 5th hole, and it was Claire Egan who just pipped Kesha Dooley by getting onto the green in the allotted 36 shots.
The Junior Order of Merit was launched with assistance from England Golf in 2014 with the aim of encouraging youngsters to get involved in the sport and to develop a pathway to becoming better players and continuing with golf as a sport for life. Contested by boys and girls together, it is split into sections to cater for all levels of ability, including full rounds for Under 18s and Under 14s, 9-hole and 6-hole competitions for younger and less experienced players, and a flag competition for beginners.
This is the second season it has been sponsored by award-winning developer Dandara, which is also title sponsor of Isle of Man Golf’s Junior Championships.
Isle of Man Golf President Dee Lewis said: ‘Well done to all who took part on a day when even the adults found scoring somewhat challenging. Many thanks to Mount Murray for hosting the event, to all the organisers and to our sponsor, Dandara, for their generosity in supporting these competitions.’
The full list of prize winners was: Tom Cain (Mount Murray), Jenna Crawford (Mount Murray), Sam Crawford (Mount Murray), Kesha Dooley (King Edward Bay), Claire Egan (King Edward Bay), Kase Finney (Mount Murray), Jack Gilbert (Rowany), Lauren Haxby (Peel), Jack Higgins (Ramsey) and Liam Hunt (Douglas).
The overall Dandara Junior Order of Merit awards for 2017 will be presented next month. For more information visit www.isleofmangolf.im or the Golf Isle of Man page on Facebook.
Photo - Some of the winners and players at the fifth round of the Dandara Junior Order of Merit with Isle of Man Golf President Dee Lewis and series organiser Vicky Noon
