A Hampshire teenager has clinched victory in an overseas golf competition.
Oliver Harrison, a 16-year-old with a handicap of 13, secured the title at the Race To Woodhall Spa Overseas Grand Final.
The event, sponsored by Your Golf Travel, took place at the Penina Hotel & Golf Resort in Portugal.
Harrison, a member at Rowlands Castle, finished with a commanding total of 71 points over two rounds on the Sir Henry Cotton Championship Course.
Read more
- Heartbreak for Hampshire as Essex win South East Challenge League title
- England Golf team return home from Singapore with bronze in Eisenhower Trophy
- Hampshire golf team ends 48-year wait for county glory
- New men's seniors joint captains announced at Hampshire golf club
- International disabled golfers visit Hampshire for major competition
He said: "It means a lot. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here and I’m really proud of this achievement and what I’ve managed to do over the past two days."
His victory put him six shots clear of the rest of the field.
A standout first round helped Harrison take control of the competition, with 40 points secured in large part thanks to five consecutive pars from holes 14 to 18.
This gave him a seven-point lead going into the final round.
He said: "The highlight was definitely my first round.
"It helped bump up my second round because I had a bit of a shaky middle but overall, I thought I played really well.
"It was important that I held the lead heading into the final round because I knew if I had a few bad holes, I could come back from it.
"My game plan was to go for precision over power and try to place the ball instead of smashing it and that’s what worked out well for me."
Despite strong starts from Cameron Anderson (Reigate Hill) and Steven Farrow (Thornbury), who posted 33 and 32 points respectively, it was Davenport’s Harry Derham who emerged as a late contender.
Derham, who won the Junior Race To Woodhall Spa in August, finished with a total of 65 points after a second-round score of 36.
The 15-year-old, playing off a handicap of 22, recorded five pars and a birdie in his final round.
However, his efforts weren’t enough to overtake Harrison.
Deborah Connor of Letchworth secured third place with a steady performance, recording scores of 29 and 31 points across her two rounds for a total of 60.
Share