European Tour winner Nick Dougherty hosted a golf day on 18 March, 2009 at The Grove, Hertfordshire, to celebrate the launch of the 2009 HSBC Wee Wonders Championships. On the warmest day of the year so far, Nick was involved with a day of coaching and playing golf with Wee Wonders both past and present.
The HSBC Wee Wonders Championships supports the next generation of golfers by providing participants with the opportunity to challenge themselves in a fun, competitive environment without the need to have a handicap or be a member of a golf club. It is the biggest grassroots junior golf programme in the UK and Ireland for 5-12 year olds and, since HSBC began sponsoring the programme in 2003, participation has grown each year. An expected 5,500 young golfers will register this year for 145 local qualifying events.
The programme is played on par three golf courses throughout the UK and Ireland. It adopts the “flag format” of competition. Competitors have 36 strokes to play the golf course, and they place a flag where their 36th shot finishes. The winners from each age category are those that have got round the course the furthest, nearest to the hole. They then proceed to a Regional Final and those winners then take part in the Grand Final at St. Andrews, Scotland in August.
Nick Dougherty, a protégé of the Faldo Junior Series, knows how important and exciting junior golf can be. He enjoyed a fantastic amateur career, culminating in being a star member of the victorious Walker Cup Team in August 2001. Nick progressed from winning the World Junior Championship in Japan in 1999, and the Faldo Junior Series three times, to being hugely successful representing the men’s England and Great Britain and Ireland teams. Over his amateur career, Nick represented England 74 times (Boys & Men). Since turning professional in 2001, Nick has won twice on the European Tour, including the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Nick said “I am proud to be an ambassador for the HSBC Wee Wonders – it’s great to be able to help HSBC inspire and support the next generation of golfers. The years spent playing golf as a junior are so important – you are not only developing your game, but you are also developing socially. Nurturing the talent and enthusiasm of young golfers is vital and I’m thrilled to support HSBC’s commitment to the development of junior golf.
“Grassroots initiatives such as the HSBC Wee Wonders are so important for the game of golf. We have seen that here today where we have had aspiring young golfers taking their very first lessons, alongside previous HSBC Wee Wonders who are now representing their country and winning major amateur championships,” said Dougherty.
The programme is played on par three golf courses throughout the UK and Ireland. It adopts the “flag format” of competition. Competitors have 36 strokes to play the golf course, and they place a flag where their 36th shot finishes. The winners from each age category are those that have got round the course the furthest, nearest to the hole. They then proceed to a Regional Final and those winners then take part in the Grand Final at St. Andrews, Scotland in August.
Nick Dougherty, a protégé of the Faldo Junior Series, knows how important and exciting junior golf can be. He enjoyed a fantastic amateur career, culminating in being a star member of the victorious Walker Cup Team in August 2001. Nick progressed from winning the World Junior Championship in Japan in 1999, and the Faldo Junior Series three times, to being hugely successful representing the men’s England and Great Britain and Ireland teams. Over his amateur career, Nick represented England 74 times (Boys & Men). Since turning professional in 2001, Nick has won twice on the European Tour, including the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Nick said “I am proud to be an ambassador for the HSBC Wee Wonders – it’s great to be able to help HSBC inspire and support the next generation of golfers. The years spent playing golf as a junior are so important – you are not only developing your game, but you are also developing socially. Nurturing the talent and enthusiasm of young golfers is vital and I’m thrilled to support HSBC’s commitment to the development of junior golf.
“Grassroots initiatives such as the HSBC Wee Wonders are so important for the game of golf. We have seen that here today where we have had aspiring young golfers taking their very first lessons, alongside previous HSBC Wee Wonders who are now representing their country and winning major amateur championships,” said Dougherty.
The HSBC Wee Wonders golf day at The Grove included current players and former Champions that have now developed into world-class amateurs looking to join the professional ranks. One HSBC Wee Wonders alumna in attendance was Hannah Barwood. Gloucestershire’s top amateur is part of the England Ladies’ Squad, making her full debut at the end of last year. By the end of 2008 she had cut her handicap to plus two and the Knowle Golf Club member is the reigning English Women’s Champion, defeating two Curtis Cup players along the way to winning the title. She is also the current English Girls Champion, and won the 2008 Faldo Series Grand Final in Brazil.The HSBC Wee Wonders day included a coaching clinic, short game skills competition, and then nine holes of golf on The Grove’s Championship golf course. The Grove is widely regarded as one of the finest new golf courses in Europe.
Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship at HSBC, said: “As a major sponsor of golf worldwide, in addition to staging world class tournaments, we feel it is crucial to develop golf at the grassroots level. We are thrilled that Nick Dougherty is supporting the 2009 HSBC Wee Wonders Championships. Before making it on the world stage as a European Tour professional, Nick enjoyed a fantastic amateur career and is a true role model for all young golfers to emulate. We hope that with Nick's support, along with the commitment of so many great local golf facilities, we will inspire children all over the country to have a go at the game of golf.”
Children aged between five and 12 years can register for the 2009 HSBC Wee Wonders via the website at www.hsbcweewonders.com or by contacting us at info@hsbcweewonders.com.
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