9 July 2026
The Faldo Junior Tour returned to Lighthouse Golf & Spa Resort this week, and the growth from year one tells a clear story about what’s happening in Bulgarian junior golf. Nineteen players showed up for the inaugural event last June. This year, thirty-nine came to compete from July 7 to 9. That’s more than double, which for a developing golfing country is exactly the kind of trajectory you want to see.
Lighthouse sits on white cliffs overlooking Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, about forty minutes from Varna airport. It’s a five-star resort with 180 rooms, multiple restaurants, a proper spa, and a course designed by Ian Woosnam that measures 6,720 yards at par 71. The place is part of the European Tour Properties group, which means the standard of maintenance and organisation is genuinely high. When you’re hosting a junior golf tournament and their families, that matters. The breeze that comes off the water keeps the course interesting without ever becoming punitive.
Romanian Arthur Lung made the most impressive mark on the week, posting a -8 total of 205 in the Boys 16 & Under division—the best score across all four divisions and the kind of round that separates the genuinely talented from the good players. He won the overall championship outright, finishing a triumphant 11 shots clear of his nearest competitor.
Albéric Le Bos-Niclot won the Boys 21 & Under title at three-over par (216), holding off Daniel Hobbs by five shots at eight-over par (221). The girls’ divisions proved to be a Bulgarian sweep. Vaya Georgieva claimed the Girls 21 & Under crown at fourteen over (227), while her sister Vyara won the Girls 16 & Under at seventeen over (230). Erin Yenicelik finished second in the older division at thirty over (243), with Andrea Bozhilova runner-up in the younger category at twenty-eight over (241).
The event carried WAGR and EGR ranking status, which adds weight to what these juniors accomplished this week. Category winners advance to the 30th Faldo Series European Grand Final in Al Ain, UAE, in November, where they’ll compete against the best juniors Europe has to offer and get access to a proper clinic with Sir Nick Faldo.
Alan Rogut, the Director of Golf at Lighthouse, and his team delivered a fantastic event. The growth from nineteen players last year to thirty-nine this year is fantastic to see, and it’s a real positive for junior golf development in Bulgaria. With venues like Lighthouse hosting the Faldo Series and providing these international pathways, Bulgarian juniors will continue to benefit from these competitive opportunities and exposure at the highest level. From the Faldo Series perspective, this is exactly what we want to see—supporting and hosting events in up-and-coming golfing nations where there’s real potential to develop the next generation of players.
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