Wilson and Brown finish in the top five at the Telegraph BMW Junior Championship
Durham’s James Wilson and Yorkshire’s Barclay Brown just missed out in the Telegraph BMW Junior Championship at Portugal’s Quinta do Lago resort.
Hoping to emulate past winners Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyneside Golf Club and Close House member Wilson finished in fourth place with rounds of 69, 75 and 78 – 12 shots behind boys’ winner Harry Goddard.
Brown, from the same Hallamshire club as Fitzpatrick, finished two shots better than Wilson with rounds of 76, 72 and 72 as he claimed third place in the event which featured 12 leading boys and nine leading girls from across the UK and Ireland.
England international Goddard, 16, carded a final day five under-par 67 to cruise to a nine-stroke victory.
In the girls’ event fellow England star Hannah Screen made it a Hertfordshire double as she won by two shots.
Goddard, from Cheshunt, enjoyed a rollercoaster week with a course record 66 in the opening round before a wayward 77 on Thursday. His birdie run returned in the final round as he fired a superb 67.
He said: “It feels great to win. I’ve had a great season with no missed cuts, mainly against players two years older than me. This is right up there.”
In the girls’ event it was a tight affair all the way down the closing stretch between overnight leader Screen and first round leader Lily May Humphreys.
Screen looked shaken after four-putting from close range on the seventh hole, but three birdies in five holes calmed the nerves and the Berkhamsted star held on to win by two strokes.
“It was a bonus I even qualified for this event and to follow in Alice Hewson’s footsteps, I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Screen. “I’m incredibly proud and it’s such a good platform for what lies ahead.”
