NORFOLK’S Under-16s enjoyed individual and team success at the Skevington Salver and Bagshaw Trophy, staged this year at Newton Green Golf Club in Suffolk.
The annual event also features rising stars from Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Essex – but this year saw Norfolk sweep the board.
Sheringham golfer Theo Pudney claimed the prestigious Skevington Salver, awarded for the best gross score.
Pudney, who has a handicap index of 2.0, was one of four players to complete the 27-hole stroke play competition on six-over-par, but emerged victorious on countback.
The win confirmed his fast-track progress after a creditable display in the Scottish Under-16s Boys Open earlier in July
King’s Lynn Golf Club’s Edward Luther showed great composure and talent as he claimed the medal for the leading net total.
Norfolk’s red-letter day was complete thanks to a convincing triumph in the Bagshaw Trophy. With the three best gross scores and the three best net scores to count, Norfolk’s overall tally of 663 left them 23 shots clear of runners-up Bedfordshire.
Norfolk Under-16s coach Ryan Pudney said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic for the boys. They showed a lot of fight after the morning’s golf when maybe some of them didn’t play as well as they could have done. But overall the whole team has performed brilliantly and I’m really proud of their efforts.
“Our attitude as a team was exemplary and that is what you want to see above anything else. You want to see them conducting themselves in the right way, representing the county in the right way – and having fun. And if they can win something along the way, then great.”
Pudney also experienced an understandable glow of pride in seeing his son secure a notable individual win in the Skevington Salver.
He added: “Theo has had a cracking couple of weeks and this is the culmination of all the hard work he put in over the whole winter.”
Norfolk Under-16s: Sullivan Goddard (Thetford), Theo Pudney (Sheringham), Liam Caffyn (Dereham), Jake Gunby (Dereham), Louie Raine (Royal Norwich), Tibet Demirsoy (Dereham), Charlie May-Khalil (Royal Norwich), Edward Luther (King’s Lynn).
