Andy DevaneyThe Kent Junior Girls South Region champions’ 2026 title was earned the hard way at The Drift Golf Club in Surrey: four days of match play, baked fairways, awkward bounces and a final morning against the hosts with the championship still requiring a little paperwork. Kent had done most of the heavy lifting already.
Two more wins against Surrey would finish the job.
Kent built the week before the pressure arrived
County match weeks have a habit of making the last session look decisive while quietly forgetting everything that made it possible. Kent’s foundations were laid much earlier.
They began with a 5–2 victory over Hampshire, then followed it with a 6½–½ dismantling of Sussex. The next morning brought an even more emphatic result: 7–0 against Middlesex. Three matches, three wins, and suddenly the mathematics had become pleasantly simple. Kent Golf’s published results confirm that formidable opening sequence.
The golf itself was not. The Drift had been playing firm after prolonged hot, dry weather, with parched fairways capable of turning a perfectly respectable shot into something requiring explanation. In match play, where one strange bounce can alter an entire hole, that sort of uncertainty tends to expose nerves rather quickly.
Kent kept theirs.
Surrey provide the sternest examination
The final match against Surrey was always likely to be the awkward one. The hosts had home familiarity, the title was at stake and Kent knew exactly what was required: two individual wins would secure the South Region crown.
Selina Bartarya supplied one at the front of the order. Teagan Ford delivered another at the rear. Between them, the championship equation was solved. Bella Watson then added a half-point, which was not strictly necessary for the trophy but is the sort of insurance nobody objects to. Kent Golf subsequently confirmed those three contributions as the points that put the title beyond doubt.
Kent did not need a grandstand finish. They needed composure, and they found it.
Bartarya, Ford and Watson settle the title
The final morning gave the week its neatest storyline. Bartarya, representing Royal Blackheath, struck early. Ford, from Prince’s, took care of the other end of the line-up. Watson, of Langley Park, added the half.
Those contributions were the visible closing act, but the title belonged to a nine-player squad whose work across the previous three matches had put Kent in command.
Alongside Bartarya, Watson and Ford were Emma Kwan of Chart Hills, Esme Medd of Wildernesse, rookie Phoebe Bright of Wildernesse, captain Skye Fontanelli of Faversham, rookie Ella Lewis of Cherry Lodge and Kieki Chapman of Chart Hills.
That is the less glamorous truth of county golf: championships are generally won long before anybody starts looking for the camera.
A team victory in every sense
Team manager Cheryl Power and coach Anna Smith were part of a support group that also included president Ingrid Long and Women’s & Girls’ Golf Development Officer Loo Brackpool.
There was another supporting cast at The Drift. The greenkeeping team kept the greens and tees in good order despite the dry spell, while the bar, catering staff and halfway hut became increasingly important as temperatures climbed. Ice lollies and choc ices are not normally listed in golf’s performance statistics, which feels like an administrative oversight.
The competitive edge did not prevent the week retaining the social character that county golf does particularly well. Matches were played in good spirit, with the rival counties sharing the sort of camaraderie that survives even when somebody has just taken your point.
From The Drift to Royal Blackheath in 2027
Kent’s reward is both a trophy and a target. Junior Girls County Week returns next year with Kent defending the title on home soil at Royal Blackheath Golf Club from 1–4 August 2027, when Surrey, Hampshire, Sussex and Middlesex are due to make the trip. Kent Golf has already confirmed the venue and dates.
That will bring a different pressure. Winning away carries freedom; defending at home arrives with expectations, familiar faces and rather fewer places to hide.
For now, though, Kent can enjoy a week in Surrey in which they handled heat, hard ground and four county opponents with considerable authority. The trophy was clinched on the final morning, but the championship had been taking shape for days.
By Wednesday, all that remained was to collect it.
