Two young golfers from Bedfordshire Golf Club have finished 2024 on a high after qualifying for the nett event at the annual Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championships, held at the Quinta do Lago Golf Club in Portugal.
Lily Johnston, 13 and Sienna Williams, 12, both qualified for the event courtesy of exceptional summers, and made the cut from over 16,000 youngsters who took part in qualifying competitions over a four-month period.
Only the top three girls won a place in the nett competition of the all paid for finals that took place from 9 to 12 December, with two of them from Bedford.
Lily and Sienna are both members at Bedfordshire Golf Club in Stagsden, and have come on leaps and bounds throughout the calendar year.
Sienna, whose golf hero is two-time LPGA Tour winner Charley Hull, began playing in 2021 with a handicap of 54 and ends the season 33 shots better off with a handicap of 21. She sealed her spot in the Algarve with victory at a Shires Junior Golf Tour event.
Hull’s home course is Woburn Golf Club, and this is where Sienna is coached by full-time professional, Adam Ledger.
Other accolades include an England debut at the Champion of Champions youth event in Northern Ireland as well as County honours, where she has already represented Bedfordshire in the County Championships this season, helping secure a victory.
She has also taken part in the Underrated Golf Tour, sponsored by NBA superstar, Steph Curry and recently won by another Bedfordian golfing superstar, Roisin Scanlon in 2023.
Read: Young golfer Roisin Scanlon wins Steph Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour
Johnston meanwhile has also enjoyed a stellar season including a Winter Junior Series title and a mixed doubles club competition on the tricky 18-hole course at Bedfordshire Golf Club.
She has also won the Girls School County Championships and as a result got to represent the schools County team at Aldenham Golf Club in Hertfordshire.
Lily qualified for the season-ending tournament in Portugal thanks to a stunning nett 12-under par round at Wyboston Lakes to top her qualifying event and now plays off a handicap of 25 with the assistance of Bedfordshire Golf Club’s pro, Seb Lovell.
Former world number one and US Open champion, Justin Rose is a big promoter of junior and women’s golf with this tournament taking place alongside his Rose Series and the Rose Ladies Open in 2024.
Described as junior golf’s major, the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship is one of the most coveted prizes in the junior game, and while Johnston and Williams reached the nett event, they may well be competing for the big prize should their development continue.
They are just two of Bedford’s big prospects on the golf course, following in the footsteps of Roisin Scanlon, who won the SGF Classic on the world amateur circuit this year, and Nick Cunningham who is a regular competitor on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour.
