England’s Ben Bolton has been crowned champion of the 2023 Faldo Series Junior Tour Europe after winning the 54-hole grand final at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club in the UAE.
The 16-year-old from Wolverhampton recorded rounds of 65, 70 and 66 for a nine-under-par total of 201, and win by seven shots from his nearest rival.
With 15 birdies across the three days, the talented teenager’s last round comprised 33 on the front nine with two birdies, as well as 33 on the back nine. Despite recording bogeys on 10 and 11, the Enville golfer battled back to birdie four holes on the spin from 13 to 17 as he fended off Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh – the only other player in the field to shoot below par on -2.
Sir Nick Faldo was on hand to present Bolton with the trophy – and the youngster recalls the moment. He said: “Nick was obviously towering over me, but I felt quite honoured. We had a bit of an interview and then he was asking about the blue shaft in my putter – he seemed wowed by that!”
The victory was Bolton’s third in 2023, after winning Portugal’s Edge Golf Championship in February and the European Young Masters in Slovakia in July. He admitted: “I’d played the tournament in the past two years and won the Under 16s category but lost out in a play-off last year, so I’d always wanted to win it overall and to do that feels great. I played solid golf, I didn’t strike it great and there weren’t any wow moments, but I managed to hole a lot of clutch putts.
“With the other wins, a third at the McGregor Trophy in July, and a fifth finish at last month’s Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship, it’s been a pretty good year!”
Bolton, who works as a greenkeeper at Enville Golf Club, admitted there wasn’t much of a celebration after his win. He added: “I flew back on Friday and headed to Woodhall Spa for an England camp, then I was back at work at Enville on Monday morning!”