Leighton Golf Club's junior players round off a superb year

Junior Leighton golfers pictured at their prize presentation evening (left to right): Ladies Captain Oonagh Russell presents Theo Aurora with the Junior championship trophy; (back) George Wooster and George Stephenson with junior organiser Adrian Stephenson, Max Brunker and Henry Wooster; (front) Sam Harris and Josh Thorne and (right) Club Vice Captain Tim Mitchell presenting Edward Fenwick with the Kingston Cup won with team mates George Stephenson, George and Henry Wooster, Sommer Chan and Josh Thorne. Other winners included Charlie Baines, and Alex and Olivia Olleson.

Leading the silverware chase was junior captain George Stephenson who named Max Brunker, top junior player of the year, his successor for 2023, with George Wooster vice captain.

All three were members of the Leighton squad that won the coveted Tavistock Trophy with club colleagues Sommer Chan and Henry Wooster, who were named as the most improved golfers of the year.

George won the Junior Order of Merit and the Larry Blair Trophy for the best three gross scores of the year, the Millennium foursomes with Sam Harris, Max Brunker and Josh Thorne and County U16 events.

*Regular playing partners Kamil Shah and Craig Simmons beat 48 other teams to win Leighton Buzzard Golf Club’s Daily Mail Foursomes and will now represent the club against other regional teams next spring. They won the Leighton leg after carding a nett 66 to win by four shots.

Runners-up were Shane Bentley and John Latimer with a nett 70, with George Elford and Christian Lester, David Evans and Gary Hart, Callum and Ryan Connew amd Stuart McLeod and Gregory White heading a chasing pack with a nett 71.

*Leighton club captain Graham Freer, who stands down in January to be succeeded by Tim Mitchell, has completed his inter-club challenges with eight wins, five defeats and two drawn games.

*On-form Julian Heffron is the new holder of Leighton’s Groves Trophy, beating vice captain-elect Stuart Mills in the final after a semi-final victory over Dharm Naveen Diwaker, with David Evans losing in the other semi.

*Gill Mcdougall won Leighton Ladies Turkey stableford with a 36 point haul, beating Christine Purkiss by a shot. Vice Captain Barbara Rickard claimed third place on countback from Michelle Plummer after both finished with 32 points.

*Ladies champion Rosalind Miles won last week’s Ladies stableford, beating Judi Malpass on countback after both finished with 33 points, with Christine Robinson third with 31 points. Pam Stannard won the nine-hole event with 18 points with Barbara Healy runner-up.