Over 100 of the best young golfers in Britain and Ireland will line up in the Grand Final of the Golf Foundation Weetabix Age Group Championships to be held at Patshull Park Golf & Country Club, Shropshire on 22 and 23 August 2000.
They will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Age Group champions Ian Garbutt, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Mhairi McKay and Rebecca Hudson who all subsequently made their mark in both the professional and the amateur ranks.
The Golf Foundation Weetabix Age Group Championships are open to boys aged under 16 and girls aged under 17. There are four age groups sections for boys – under 16, under 15, under 14 and under 13, and three sections for girls – under 17, under 16 and under 15. Nearly 4,000 young golfers entered the local qualifying events, with 1,800 reaching the regional finals from which 102 qualified for the seven age group categories at the Grand Final.
The finalists, with the exception of under 13 boys, will also be competing for the Duke of York Trophies awarded to the boy and girl with the lowest 36-hole aggregate.
Alexandra Marshall from Burghley Park, is going for a third successive win and her second Duke of York Trophy. Many youngsters are returning to the final hoping to beat previous placings. These include several players, notably Zach Gould (Radyr), Jack Stevenson (Torrington), Stephen O’Rourke (Tramore), and Matthew Lord (Heworth, York) who are all going for the U13 title.