Hampshire U18 player Ollie Chedhomme shone in the late August sun in this weeks 71st County Junior Championships held at Lee-On-The-Solent Golf Club. The seaside venue rich in history of Hampshire legends was all set for another classic county championship not seen at Lee since 1988!
Following a cracking mornings play Ollie and fellow U18 player Jack field set the early pace with a pair of 69's closely followed by U16's Harrison Price and James Plater with a pair of 70's.
The still and warm conditions of the morning round were replaced with a keen sea breeze challenging the players for what turned out to be an epic afternoons golf.
Nothing could separate Ollie, Harrison and James in increasing tricky conditions, all showing fantastic resolve and composure way beyond their years.
Ollie was first to the tough 17th Par 3 making bogey and slipping to +4 joining Harrison one shot off the lead.
It was then Championship leader James turn to play the Par 3 17th, narrowly missing the tough green and ending up plugged in the greenside bunker. Many would have buckled but James bravely held his nerve to salvage a double bogey from a situation that could have easily cost him more shots.
A birdie from Ollie down the 18th saw him finish with a great round of 72 (+3 for the championship) leaving playing partners James and Harrison stood on 18, +5 and +4 respectively being the only players that could wrestle the title away from leader in the clubhouse Ollie.
Bouncing back from a double on the 17th James showed real class to also make birdie on the 18th, bringing his championship to a close with a solid 72, one shot back overall (+4) from Ollie.
So it was left for Harrison to complete the 18th hole with a solid par 4 and settling for a tie of second place with James.
Congratulations go to Ollie Chedhomme who was duly crowned County Junior Champion 2022.
There were many other fine displays across the day capping a fantastic County Junior Championship and showing great promise for the upcoming 2023 season.
Huge hanks to Lee-On-The=Solent for being such wonderful hosts, the volunteers for their amazing support throughout the day, Richard and Alan for their hard work ensuring the event ran smoothly, Matt and Edward our county referees and David Matthews for some magic behind the camera.
We hope to see you all at Waterlooville next year as we start the journey towards the County Junior Championships 2023...!