The Faldo Junior Tour returned in style to the prestigious Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire to celebrate the start of the Great Britain & Ireland season and 30 years of the Faldo Series. The Faldo Series Masters hosted 243 players from across Europe and will be the largest field of the year. In addition to a large field, the quality was very high, with 73 players at plus handicap. The event was played over both the Palmerston and Melbourne Courses, with 84 players making it through to the final round played on the Palmerston Course.
Conditions throughout the week were testing for the players with accuracy off the tee at a premium for low scoring. Playing on the Palmerston Course on Day 1, Royal Liverpool’s Will Bebbington got off to a flying start with a 6 under par 67, recording 8 birdies in the round. Bebbington would go on to win the event as well as the Boys 21 & Under category. A 1 under par final round, which included 7 birdies, would eventually give Will a 2 shot victory over last year’s Boys 16 & Under Winner Haiden Matos and Wales’ Joe Jones, who would finish on 4 under par. Haiden Matos, who had won the Boys 16 & Under category a year earlier, produced a stunning 66 on day 2 around the challenging set-up of the Melbourne Course to book his place in the final group for day 3.
In the Boys 16 & Under category, George Lancaster led through the first 2 rounds with a pair of 71’s but was eventually caught by Oswestry’s Louis Rickett, who tied for the lead with Sandy Lodge’s George Lancaster with a total of +3. Whilst both players qualified for the Faldo Junior Europe Grand Final in November, a play-off was needed to decide the age category winner, with Louis Rickett coming out on top after the 1st play off hole.
In the Girls 21 & Under event, Gemma Burgess of North Hants and Royal Jersey’s Anabelle Lucas-Villar played consistently over the three rounds to gain a clear lead going into the final round. With rounds of 73, 74, and 75, Anabelle Lucas-Villar eventually gained her first World Amateur Golf Ranking, beating Gemma Burgess by 2 shots. As well as booking a place in the European Grand Final, Anabelle and Gemma will both also take up invitations to a Rose Ladies Series event courtesy of their performances at Brocket Hall.
Within the Girls 16 & Under category, Emily Dixon of Orsett GC finished on +9 to win the category and book her place in the Europe Grand Final. Also on the plane is Irish player Teagan Ford, who finished in 2nd place, 6 shots behind Emily.
The Faldo Junior Tour will return to Brocket Hall once more in 2027 for the next edition of the Faldo Series Masters, with the hope of attracting another strong field with some of the best young golfers from around the United Kingdom and Europe once more.
