Junior Tour 2019/20

2019/20 Junior Tour - Finale & Order of Merit

The 2019/20 Junior Tour came to an end in a rather disappointing way. We lost three of the last six events to very bad weather and the Finale was cancelled due to the Coronavirus situation - I will come back to this at the end of this article. Nonetheless, over the 14 events that we actually played we averaged 21 players which is way beyond my hopes at the beginning of the Tour and also caused me a few headaches because of the lack of daylight on some occasions.

The success of the Tour can only really be measured by the attendance figures and these were so good this year that I'm almost obliged to start again and organise another winter Tour!

Talking of attendance: 

18 of you played in 10 or more events which is great. 

Connor, George Wooster, Holly, Owyn and Vikram played in 13 events which is excellent and worth a £20 voucher. 

Jagjeet and Rajan both played in every event which is perfect and worth a £30 voucher.

I am really pleased with the level of commitment that we've seen over the winter. Well done everyone.

As for the Order of Merit, I think that Rajan was in the lead when the first Standings were published and that is where he finished. Well done Rajan - that's a great performance spread over the winter months.

The final positions can be found at the bottom right of this page but the prizewinners are as follows:

Rajan Kumar - 72 Points - £70

Connor Tallentire - 62 Points - £50 

George Wooster - 62 Points - £50

George Tebbutt - 58 Points - £30

Louis Fitzgerald - 51 Points - £20

Vikram Singh - 51 Points - £20

Well done to all of you.

Vouchers will be posted to you.

I mentioned earlier that the Coronavirus hit us just before this year's Tour had ended. It is currently unclear how this situation will develop but what is already clear is that there is unlikely to be much competitive inter-county golf this summer - we have already lost two of the three planned league matches for this season in all three age categories! For the time being the new coaching program that we had worked so hard to set up, and which I was very excited about, is suspended. When the crisis is over we will take stock and do what we can to get county golf up and running again. Please be patient.

Above all, please be careful. Do not underestimate how serious this pandemic is. None of us are invincible and the virus will get to us if it can. Let's win the fight by doing what the experts tell us to do and we'll all come out of this stronger for having lived through it.

Remember that you must always learn from life's experiences, and then smile.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Martin.

Junior Tour Format for 2019/20

The Tour is open to all golfers - boys and girls - who will be Under 16 years of age on 1st January 2020 and who hold their handicap at a Bedfordshire club.

Handicap Qualifying

The events will be full handicap Stablefords played in threes and fours. In a change from previous years, and in response to feedback from players in last winter's Tour, the events will be handicap qualifying to the extent that this is possible - if participation levels are high, some of the events may have to be played over fewer than 18 holes which will make them non-qualifying for handicap purposes.

Dates

The individual events of the Tour are listed on the right. Places will be allotted on a first come first served basis. Online entry will open on 1st September 2019. Click on the event to enter.

Entries and Parental Consent

Entry is online and entries will only be considered complete when the entry fee (£5 per event) has been paid AND the  Parental Consent Form has been submitted (one Parental Consent Form for the whole Tour). Payment is via PayPal but you do not need a PayPal account to pay online - credit/debit card is sufficient. Entry fees will only be refunded upto one week before the event, unless a reserve player is able to play.

Prizes

This year the Divisions will be based on handicap rather than age. There will most probably be three divisions but this will only be decided when we have a clearer idea of the distribution of handicaps that have entered the first event. Players will be advised of the handicap ranges in each division on the day of the first event, they will be placed into the appropriate Divison and will move between Divisions as their handicap goes down or up. Prizes - vouchers for coaching with a Bedfordshire Professional - will be awarded on the day to each division. 

Order of Merit

There will be an Order of Merit prize awarded at the end of the year based on points awarded for finishes in the Junior Tour events. Points will be awarded on the following basis:

1 Point for participation.

15 points for first place, 12 points for second place, 9 points for third place, 7 points for fourth place, 5 points for fifth place, 3 points for sixth place, 2 points for 7th place and 1 point for eighth place.

No participation points will be awarded to anyone who doesn't complete the round. Countback will decide the placings of any players who have the same number of Stableford points.

Any tie in the Order of Merit standings will be decided first by reference to the total number of events in which each of the tied players have participated. If still tied, reference will be made to the total Order of Merit points won in the events in which ALL the tied players participated. If still tied, all prizes will be shared.

The BCGU Junior Manager will administer the events and the Order of Merit - his decisions shall be final.

Parents are requested to familiarise themselves with the BCGU Children and Young People Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.