Staff WriterThe Men’s County Champion of Champions returned to Woodhall Spa’s fabled Hotchkin Course this weekend, and it served up everything golf fans crave – birdie barrages, double bogey heartbreaks, and three worthy winners who proved they could tame one of England’s sternest tests.
Glenn grabs glory in style
Durham’s James Glenn produced the sort of golf that makes you question whether he’s human or has been surgically attached to his putter. Over 36 holes on Sunday, Glenn carded a combined -5, firing rounds of 70 (-3) and 71 (-2) to clinch the 2025 Men’s County Champion of Champions title.
He began the afternoon two shots back of Cumbria’s Rory Thompson, who had set the early pace. But Glenn kept his head while others misplaced theirs, edging Thompson by one and leaving Alfie Turner (Staffordshire) and Laurie Owen (Hertfordshire) a further shot adrift.
For Owen, the finish was cruel. After birdies at 16 and 17, he stood on the final tee looking like he might steal the show and force a play-off. Then golf, being golf, slapped him on the back of the head. A double bogey on 18 saw him tumble from glory to groan in one swing.
Cahi crowned Boys’ Champion
On Saturday, Sussex’s Leo Cahi showed the swagger of a player who may just be the future of English golf. The 16-year-old strung together back-to-back rounds of 72 to finish -2 overall, overturning a two-shot deficit in the process.
That steady brilliance earned him the Boys’ County Champion of Champions title by the slimmest of margins – a single shot ahead of Sullivan Goddard (Norfolk) and George Whitehead (Lancashire).
Cahi’s composure shone brightest in a field tighter than Tiger Woods’ Sunday red polo. Just two shots separated the top six, with Ben Sessions (Hertfordshire), Hayden Sarfo (Worcestershire) and Harry Weatherhead (Surrey) all level par in a tie for fourth.
Twynholm takes Senior crown
Meanwhile, Northumberland’s Sandy Twynholm proved that experience still counts for plenty in this game of ours. Across the same punishing Hotchkin layout, he went -3 through 36 holes to capture the Senior Men’s County Champion of Champions by two strokes.
Twynholm opened with a sparkling 71 (-2) and followed it with a composed 72 (-1), the only player in the Senior field to post consecutive under-par rounds. That consistency left Martin Farbrace (Kent) and Paul Newcombe (Devon) chasing shadows, both finishing two back at -1.
A weekend to remember
From Glenn’s ruthless composure to Cahi’s fearless youth and Twynholm’s steady hand, the 2025 Men’s County Champion of Champions had it all.
On a course that has tested champions for over a century, three new names carved theirs into county golf history.
