Champion of Champions
JCB Golf and Country Club
21st September 2024
67 players representing the Junior, Men and Senior champions from Staffordshire Union affiliated golf clubs played for the second edition of this competition. The day began in bright, blustery conditions at the prestigious JCB Golf and Country Club who had recently hosted the UK leg of the LIV golf tournament.
The junior competition was a keenly fought affair, with four boys being in the hunt for the championship. At the half way point, Oliver Badger, with a score of one over par for nine holes, held a one shot lead over his closest rivals, Alfie Turner, Jayden Phipps and Zac Chamberlain.
Oliver, Alfie and Jayden were locked together until the 16th hole. A fine birdie on the 16th hole gave Oliver the lead. Everyone still had the challenging, long par 3 17th hole to contend with. All day this hole would cause many players trouble. A par on the 17th and a birdie on the 18th was enough to see Zac Chamberlain win the the junior competition by one shot.
Sadly, as the weather closed in during the afternoon, the men and the senior competitions were reduced to 9 holes. Play was first suspended at just after 4:15 pm due to thunder and lightning, which was followed by torrential rain. The competitions were finally abandoned for the day at 5pm. The thunder and lightning continued into the early evening, along with torrential rain.
All players in the Men and Senior competitions had managed to complete at least 9 holes. It was decided that the results were to be taken from the first 9 holes of the round.
The Mens competition was won by James O’Keeffe (Trentham GC) with a level par score of 36, closely followed by Ryan Wells (Druids Heath GC) with a score of 37. Third was Oliver Clews (Ingestre Park GC) on 38. Three other players also finished with a score of 38.
The Senior competition was won by Derek Verey (Beau Desert GC) with a one over par score of 37. Runner up with a score of 39 was Robert Parkes (Trentham GC). John Hall (Brocton Hall GC) with 40 came third, leading four other players on the same score.
It really was a pity that the complete field could not have finished the 18 holes. The organisers would like to thank the two referees and all of the helpers that went to make the day such a resounding success. As usual, JCB were the perfect host and the County Union is indebted to them for the use of the course and its excellent facilities.
The three winners, left to right, D Verey, J O’Keefe, Immediate Past President Andrew Dathan, Z. Chamberlain