British Championships report: History made as Adam Kelly wins the first BMGA Major of the season Great Britain Junior Adam Kelly crowned British Champion in MargateThe two day BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS were contested at Strokes Adventure Golf Course in Kent across the weekend of 10th and 11th May. After nine rounds of outstanding minigolf, Adam Kelly (Kent Minigolf Club) made British minigolf history by becoming the first UK junior to win a BMGA Major Championship. As well as the overall title, Adam made it 5 junior Championship wins in a row in his final season as a junior player.
2014 British Champion Adam Kelly (centre) with runner up Michael Smith (left) and 3rd Place Sean Homer
Adam was pushed all the way across the weekend by UK number 1 player Michael Smith with the final two rounds of the day seeing the lead change a number of times as both players fought for the title. After a tense final 6 holes, Adam finished the tournament with a hole in one at the final lane to finish the event with a superb 31 under par for the competition, beating the former British Champion Michael by 2 shots.
Speaking after picking up the trophy and gold medal Adam said “The fact that I am now a major winner hasn't quite sunk in yet. I'd like to thank Matt, Brian and Frankie for welcoming us to such a wonderful venue for the weekend. It makes the victory that much more special to me that it was at the best and most challenging course on tour, where I made my debut six years ago. Massive thanks also go to Sean and Marion Homer for running the tournament so smoothly whilst also putting on great performances on the course. I'd also like to thank the KMGC along with everyone else who offered me support over the weekend. Congratulations to Sean and Brenda for their wins this weekend. And lastly I hope this is the beginning of a great season, and good luck to all of the GB team at the WAGM!"
As well as the overall British Champion being crowned, the event also saw the British Senior, British Women and British Junior titles being fought out across the 2 day, nine round event. Sean Homer, third in the overall event, retained the Senior title (making it two wins in a row at the Championships) with Andy Exall 2nd and Tony Kelly 3rd. In the Women’s Championship, Brenda Smith won the title, with Marion Homer 2nd and Emily Gottfried 3rd. Adam won the Junior title with fellow GBR Youth team player Will Donnelly 2nd.
Other winners on the day were Paul Preston (category 4 champion), Adrian Amey (category 3 champion), Marc Chapman (category 2 champion) and Adam Kelly (category 1 champ). 4 aces champions were also crowned - Ed Haynes (cat 4), Brenda Smith (Cat 3), Mark Wood (cat 2) and Michael Smith (Cat 1)
BMGA Chairman Sean Homer said “We always have a tremendous event when we visit Strokes and this year’s event was no exception. The twists and turns in the final stages of the competition with our two best players on the tour going head to head proved to be a fitting climax to an excellent competition. Adam showed incredible strength of character with the pressure that Michael put him under and the victory was hugely deserved. I would like to thank all who played at the event, everyone who helped with the running of the competition over the 2 days and a special thanks to the course owners Brian, Frankie and Matt Wood for their hospitality, as always, over the weekend."
Full results of the 2014 BMGA British Championships can be found at
http://www.bmga.co.uk/2014BC/result.htm A photo gallery of the event courtesy of the Kent Minigolf Club can be found at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13680867@N02/sets/72157644558180446/ The Great Britain minigolf squad (Sean, Adam and Michael along with James Rutherford, Mark Wood, Chris Wood, Adrian Amey and Martin Greenhead) will be taking on all comers at the World Adventure Golf Masters taking place next weekend in Gothenburg, Sweden. Further details and updates will appear on the BMGA website, Facebook site and Twitter account over the coming days.
The next event on the BMGA tour is the British Matchplay Championship at the Pirate Cove Course in Bluewater on Sunday 6th July – further details can be found at
http://www.minigolf.org.uk/joomla/index.php?option=com_eventlist&view=details&id=113&Itemid=56 The British Minigolf Association (BMGA) is the governing body for Minigolf Sport, including Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf. Formed in 1998 the BMGA organises Minigolf competitions for its members across the UK.