Annabel Peaford, 14, became the youngest ever winner of the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship, after winning the girls’ tournament by five shots at Quinta do Lago last week.
The Walton Heath golfer shot rounds of -2, -2 and +1 as she finished five shots ahead of her nearest competitor, to crown an amazing year, which has also seen her picked for the England Girls’ squad.
And after winning the event in Portugal, she said: “It’s been an amazing week. It was my first tournament I’ve ever played abroad and I really enjoyed it. It was quite a challenge and it was great to experience as it was like what you see on the pro tours.
“It’s not very often you have a six-shot lead walking down the last, so I got to really enjoy it and it was nice to have my dad there.”
After being showered in bottles of water on the 18th hole by her new England teammates, Peaford admitted it was back to reality the next day.
She said: “I got back at 3pm on Saturday and I’ve been sleeping most of the time since! We celebrated with a nice meal with family and friends on Sunday night and then it was back to school on Monday morning. It was nice to be back to normal and amongst school friends again.”
Peaford qualified for the event after winning the Surrey Schools Championship, but revealed she didn’t know till after the event that July’s victory would mean a trip to Portugal to compete with 11 of the best in November.
She explained: “I won the Surrey Schools’ event at Farnham Golf Club but I didn’t know it was a qualifier till afterwards! I hadn’t been focusing on trying to qualify, it was just a nice perk of winning that event. It wasn’t till I got out to Portugal that I realised how big of a deal it was.“It’s my best achievement to date, especially because of how strong the field was. I’ve won some things before but the field in Portugal was another level.”
The promising young talent will be spending more time in Quinta do Lago, as she gears up to join her new England teammates again in the New Year. And she admitted: “I’ve got some work to do on my pitching. At this point everyone has good swings but it’s looking for other little things that can set you apart and add to your game.
“It was a really nice atmosphere in Portugal and the other England girls were all really supportive of my win. It’s nice to know that I’ll be getting to go there with them again in February.”
Peaford’s next events look set to be in 2024 with The R&A Girls' U16 Amateur Championship and the Scottish Open Girls’ Championship in April.
And after winning the event in Portugal, she said: “It’s been an amazing week. It was my first tournament I’ve ever played abroad and I really enjoyed it. It was quite a challenge and it was great to experience as it was like what you see on the pro tours.
“It’s not very often you have a six-shot lead walking down the last, so I got to really enjoy it and it was nice to have my dad there.”
After being showered in bottles of water on the 18th hole by her new England teammates, Peaford admitted it was back to reality the next day.
She said: “I got back at 3pm on Saturday and I’ve been sleeping most of the time since! We celebrated with a nice meal with family and friends on Sunday night and then it was back to school on Monday morning. It was nice to be back to normal and amongst school friends again.”
Peaford qualified for the event after winning the Surrey Schools Championship, but revealed she didn’t know till after the event that July’s victory would mean a trip to Portugal to compete with 11 of the best in November.
She explained: “I won the Surrey Schools’ event at Farnham Golf Club but I didn’t know it was a qualifier till afterwards! I hadn’t been focusing on trying to qualify, it was just a nice perk of winning that event. It wasn’t till I got out to Portugal that I realised how big of a deal it was.“It’s my best achievement to date, especially because of how strong the field was. I’ve won some things before but the field in Portugal was another level.”
The promising young talent will be spending more time in Quinta do Lago, as she gears up to join her new England teammates again in the New Year. And she admitted: “I’ve got some work to do on my pitching. At this point everyone has good swings but it’s looking for other little things that can set you apart and add to your game.
“It was a really nice atmosphere in Portugal and the other England girls were all really supportive of my win. It’s nice to know that I’ll be getting to go there with them again in February.”
Peaford’s next events look set to be in 2024 with The R&A Girls' U16 Amateur Championship and the Scottish Open Girls’ Championship in April.
Elsewhere, Morton Bailey triumphed by six shots across the three days of the boys’ championship. He said: “It was awesome, especially with the players that were in the field. It was such a tough field so it really was amazing. It’s definitely my biggest achievement to date.”
With 18,000 players looking to make it to the finals in Portugal, Bailey qualified for the event thanks to a score of -3 at the Fairhaven Trophy, and his scores of 69, 71, 69 (-7) in Portugal saw him lift the trophy at Quinta do Lago.
He explained: “It was my first tournament abroad and it was really good. Learning the different grasses was a challenge as it was massively different to where we play in England. Over here you find your ball in the rough but over there, even if it’s a yard off the fairway, it can massively impact your next shot.”
Asked about his celebrations, Bailey admitted he had a promise to keep to some of his playing partners! He revealed: “We stayed up late celebrating in Portugal and I had a challenge to do as the boys I was playing with said that however many shots I went on to win by, I needed to eat that many plates of chicken goujons. That meant trying to eat 30 goujons in one sitting, and I wasn’t successful!”
After arriving back home at 8pm on Saturday, it was straight down to Bailey’s local club West Hove. He added: “The club organised for members to come down and I brought down the trophy so people could come and congratulate me, which was really nice.
“It was back to Sixth Form College on Monday and back to normal. It’s a bit of a blur now and almost feels like it didn’t happen as I’ve got a bit of work to catch up on that I missed last week!”
Bailey will be working hard on his golf ahead of the start of the 2024 season, building up to August when he will be moving to the USA to join Louisiana Tech University.
With 18,000 players looking to make it to the finals in Portugal, Bailey qualified for the event thanks to a score of -3 at the Fairhaven Trophy, and his scores of 69, 71, 69 (-7) in Portugal saw him lift the trophy at Quinta do Lago.
He explained: “It was my first tournament abroad and it was really good. Learning the different grasses was a challenge as it was massively different to where we play in England. Over here you find your ball in the rough but over there, even if it’s a yard off the fairway, it can massively impact your next shot.”
Asked about his celebrations, Bailey admitted he had a promise to keep to some of his playing partners! He revealed: “We stayed up late celebrating in Portugal and I had a challenge to do as the boys I was playing with said that however many shots I went on to win by, I needed to eat that many plates of chicken goujons. That meant trying to eat 30 goujons in one sitting, and I wasn’t successful!”
After arriving back home at 8pm on Saturday, it was straight down to Bailey’s local club West Hove. He added: “The club organised for members to come down and I brought down the trophy so people could come and congratulate me, which was really nice.
“It was back to Sixth Form College on Monday and back to normal. It’s a bit of a blur now and almost feels like it didn’t happen as I’ve got a bit of work to catch up on that I missed last week!”
Bailey will be working hard on his golf ahead of the start of the 2024 season, building up to August when he will be moving to the USA to join Louisiana Tech University.
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org