In the U12 / U14 boys and U14 girls sections the events are generally 18 hole qualifiers, something that
has proved to be very popular with all the competitors.
The number of regular season RookieTour events was twelve for 2016, plus the “Race to the Stars” finale
for the leading players in each Order of Merit, making a total of thirteen events throughout the year. For
the YIGS there were four events to take part in.
The Race to the Stars, the finale of the 2016 RookieTour, took place at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Fifty-
four junior golfers gathered to take part in this invitation only event. The Royal Wimbledon clubhouse
and course were fantastic, with the sun shining and the stiff breeze weakening as the day progressed to
make for a great day of golf.
In part the Tour was a victim of its own success with most of the events being sold out very quickly,
meaning that some youngsters didn’t get to play in all the events that they wanted to, which was
disappointing but unavoidable.
In total 215 players from 61 Surrey golf clubs registered for the 2016 tour. As stated above the average
entry was 105 players per event. This maintained the 2015 entry level and compares favourably with
previous years. The highest entry was at Hoebridge par 3 course with 147.
Overall there is no doubt that the 2016 RookieTour has yet again been a fantastic success for Surrey golf
and all the juniors involved. And with the continued support of the Surrey Golf Clubs who host our
events it will continue to be so for many years to come.
Our special thanks go to these courses and venues without whose help in hosting these events the
RookieTour simply wouldn’t be able to take place, so a big thank you too!
West Byfleet, Merrist Wood, Puttenham, Addington Court, Shirley Park, Reigate Hill, Milford, Hoebridge,
Cuddington, Wildwood, Windlesham, Farnham and Royal Wimbledon.
As it is every year the quality of the competition in 2016 was exceptionally high. The number of times
countback had to be used to separate the players was absolutely incredible.
As with the individual events, the race for the various Order of Merit titles was intense with many players
still in with a chance to claim a title right up to the last event, the “Race to the Stars”, which for 2016
was held at Royal Wimbledon.
The NikeGolf RookieTour 2016 Order of Merit Champions
U14 Boys Scratch OoM Champion: SHERGO KURDI (Windlesham)
U14 Boys Handicap OoM Champion: AMIR-ALI SAFARI (Croham Hurst)
U14 Girls Handicap OoM Champion: SARAH MARDANI (Windlesham)
U12 Boys Scratch OoM Champion: ROCKY CHAPMAN (Pine Ridge)
U12 Boys Handicap OoM Champion: LEO VOROBYEV (Windlesham)
Most, if not all, the Surrey U14, U13 and U12 team players either come from, or already play in, the
RookieTour. Which just shows there is no doubt that the NikeGolf RookieTour plays an important role in
developing potential future Surrey stars.
Finally a big thank you to all those who have helped with this year’s tour. There are far too many to
name, but you know who you are and we really appreciate your help.
Not forgetting all the mums and dads who, week in week out, do a terrific job of taxi driving and ball
spotting for their youngsters, along with support of the Tour itself.
Finally to our sponsors NIKEGOLF, a massive thank you for supporting the ROOKIETOUR since it
first started.
The Paul Casey Trophy (U12)
On what can only be described as a terrible day’s weather for golf the Surrey U12 Championships took
place at Milford Golf Club. Due to the heavy rain sweeping across the South East the scheduled start was
delayed by an hour to give the weather a chance to improve.
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