THE spring sun shone brightly, the temperature was mild and the competition strong during a fantastic day of tournament golf on the fairways at Hartlepool for the Graeme Storm Junior Open.

Ben Bailey, the teenager who carded the best gross score of the day, will have to get used to such fine weather conditions, provided he fulfils an ambition to move to America within the next two years.

Bailey was a winner at the Graeme Storm Junior Open last weekend by carding the best gross score of the day with his level-par 70 on the challenging track by the North Sea coast.

The Northern Echo:

There were also successes on the gross front for Dan Norman (11-14 boys), Libby Bell (11-14 girls) and Amy Sutheran (15-18 girls) as well as Bailey (15-18 boys), although it was the latter’s excellence that earned him the score of the day.

There were also net score victories for Adam Dews (7-10 age group), Kieran Hall (11-14 boys), Ella Jackson (11-14 girls), Matthew Booth (15-18 boys) and Ella Crang (15-18 girls) on a memorable second Graeme Storm Junior Open.

The standard on show was brilliant throughout from the 160 young players from across the country, with the South Africa Open winner Storm commenting afterwards that he had been ‘hugely impressed’ by the standard and quality. He then handed over a cheque of £5,000 to the Finlay Cooper Fund, the event’s chosen charity.

Bailey said: “It was great, the weather was good. My golf was in good shape and the course was too. It was a well organised event, just as it was last year, and how it should be.

“I was more than happy to take a 70. It was a solid performance, I hit the fairways, the greens. I hit a few bogeys and birdies, was up and down in that respect, but I didn’t miss many greens. I two putted all the way round.”

That proved the difference as the one-handicapper finished ahead of Eaglescliffe’s Will Skipp and Beamish’s Matthew Watson to record the best gross score.

Bailey, Skipp and Sutheran are all regulars down at Hartlepool because they are under Storm’s watch at Dyke House Sports & Technology College, where he is a golf consultant, and they are all on a sport scholarship programme.

Bailey, who has been coached for years by Wynyard’s Andrew Nicholson, said: “Stormy looks after us when he is home. They are always well organised sessions and he makes sure we are on the right track. He tries to make sure we get the best out of our game.”

He was part of the college team that went to the British Schools’ and Colleges’ Links Championship at Fleetwood last month and he secured third spot; the team qualified for the National Finals next month.

The 17-year-old’s experiences are helping him to gain a greater understanding of what is required to reach the top. He has ambitions to take on a scholarship in the United States at the end of his A-levels.

“This year has started well,” said the Lower Sixth student. “I was tied third at the British Schools in very tough conditions. It was lashing down, with 35mph winds and I shot three over. I am looking forward to Nationals now.

“I want to go to the States next August. I have got the stuff set up to go there, I just need to make sure I get the grades and it should be good. It has always been my ambition to go to the States and try to make it there.

“I have played golf since the age of two. I started out at Knotty Hill in Sedgefield in the beginning. I was at Seaton Carew for seven years as a junior, and learned how to play tough shots there. I moved to Wynyard and I am a member at Hartlepool as well. It helped to know the course when I played in the Graeme Storm Junior Open.”

Bailey was a regular top ten finisher at the US Kids Championship in Scotland when he was younger and is also a familiar face at the North of England squad get-togethers. He represented the county Under-16s for a few years too.

GRAEME STORM JUNIOR OPEN WINNERS

7-10 age group mixed

Adam Dews 35 pts (countback), Ben Brown 35, Jamie Skinner 33

11-14 boys

Best net: Kieran Hall 58, Harry Etherington 61

Best Gross: Dan Norman 73

11-14 girls

Best net: Ella Jackson 64, Emily Atkinson 66

Best Gross: Libby Bell 81

15-18 boys

Best net: Matthew Booth 61, Ryan Mackie 64 (countback)

Best gross: Ben Bailey 70

15-18 girls

Best net: Ella Crang 71 (countback), Emily Baxter 71

Best gross: Amy Sutheran 84 (countback)