Andy DevaneyThe English Girls’ U16 and U14 Championships produced two finishes at The Gog Magog Golf Club that would have tested rather older nerves.
Spain’s Paula Jimenez won the U16 title on the second play-off hole after a closing 69 and three straight birdies, while England’s Maybel Brooks claimed the U14 crown with a birdie at the 18th. Different routes, same useful lesson: junior golf has no obligation to behave quietly.
Jimenez finds three birdies when she needs them most
Germany’s Jinlei Zhong began the U16 final round one shot ahead of compatriot Helena Baraka and England’s Selina Bartarya, with Lorena Guth and Spain’s Iciar Rodriguez two off the pace. Jimenez started outside the top five, but seven players were separated by only two shots early on.
Baraka moved to seven under with two birdies in her first five holes. Guth then joined the argument, an eagle at the fourth taking her to six under before a birdie at the 12th brought her to seven. Bartarya, the first-round leader, also reached seven under after an eagle at the fourth.
Guth edged ahead at eight under through 16, only to bogey the last. Golf had left the door ajar.
Jimenez kicked it open. She birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th, signed for a four-under 69 and posted seven under in the clubhouse.
A play-off decided by one better miss
Rodriguez, Bartarya and Baraka remained close, but all finished one shot shy of the leading pair. Jimenez and Guth headed to extra holes.
Both made par at the par-five first. Back at the 18th, both found the fairway before missing left with their approaches. Guth finished near the trees and had to chip out; Jimenez stopped short of the green in a far kinder position. Guth made bogey and Jimenez completed a tidy up-and-down for par.
The victory made Jimenez the first Spanish winner of the Girls’ U16 Championship.
“It feels really good. I’m very happy to have won this amazing tournament. It was great playing at this golf course, it was wonderful! It means a lot because I love Spain, so it’s truly amazing and it’s great to become the first Spanish player to win this tournament.”
Rodriguez, Bartarya and Baraka shared third on six under, with France’s Victorie Bizet and Ludivine Passe tied sixth on four under.
Brooks ignores the scoreboard and trusts the shot
The U14 finish was every bit as theatrical without needing a play-off. Italy’s Elena Sartori had led from the opening round and started the final day one ahead of Spain’s Sofia Lara Gamilla Karpa, with Brooks and France’s Romy Tertian three shots back.
Sartori stretched her lead to three shots through 10 holes at 10 under. Brooks, meanwhile, reached two under for the day without a bogey. Karpa’s three early birdies were checked by a costly spell around the turn, including a double bogey at the par-three eighth.
Then Sartori bogeyed the 15th and 16th, dropping to eight under. The leading trio were suddenly separated by a single shot.
Brooks reached the 18th and produced the required answer: a chip close from just off the green, then the birdie putt for a bogey-free 70 and an eight-under total.
“It feels amazing to have won this tournament, there’s so many good competitors here! I didn’t really know I was in with a chance; I decided not to look at the scoreboard on the 17th which was probably a good idea.
Then, I was going down 18, thinking I needed to try and birdie it to see if I’d have a chance. I didn’t really think too much about it until everyone started coming up to me saying ‘Mabel you have a chance!’
One birdie, one title, and some serious company
Sartori still had the last to answer Brooks, but missed the green right with her approach and could not get up and down. The bogey dropped her to seven under alongside Karpa, leaving Brooks one clear.
The Chelmsford golfer, part of the England Golf East Region Squad, had posted rounds of 70, 71 and 70. She also joined a distinguished list of U14 champions: Charley Hull won in 2008, Georgia Hall in 2009 and Alice Hewson in 2010.
“It’s very cool to have my name alongside the likes of Charley Hull, Georgia Hall and Alice Hewson!”
Tertian finished fourth on three under after a closing 75. Germany’s Romy Sander shot a five-under 68 to climb to fifth on one under.
Two champions and two versions of nerve
Jimenez won from outside the leading group, finished with three consecutive birdies and then survived a play-off. Brooks avoided the scoreboard and birdied the hole that mattered most.
Those are useful victories to bank, but the manner of them may linger longer than the numbers. Competitive golf eventually asks the same impolite question of everyone: can you hit the shot now? At Gog Magog, Jimenez and Brooks both answered yes.
