College golfers take on challenging Celtic Manor course

October 2021

Sixty college students battled it out in the first event of the AoC Sport Open Golf Championships at the Celtic Manor Resort last week.

In the first national golf event since the pandemic, 49 men and 11 women representing 17 colleges tested their skills on the very challenging Roman Road course.

Heavy overnight rain created a very soft course, with conditions made more difficult by the blustery wind. This made the long fifth hole one that many of the competitors will want to forget, fully living up to its stroke index 1 rating.

Nevertheless, there were some outstanding scores, especially in the men’s gross competition where five players produced sub-par rounds, with Tom Scullion from Hartpury College finishing one shot behind the winner Teddy Hall (Cambridge Regional College) who scored 68. In third place was South Gloucestershire & Stroud College’s Milan Reed.

Seven players ended up with below par rounds in the men’s nett competition, where both Enzo Cryer from Hartpury College and Jason-Powell Hill from Coleg Gwent scored nett 71. Enzo won on the basis of a lower score on the back 9 holes with Scullion finishing in the bronze medal position.

Men's Gross Results - AoC Sport Open Golf Championships (Celtic Manor)

Men's Nett Results - AoC Sport Open Golf Championships (Celtic Manor)

Katie Stevens from Middlesbrough College won the women’s gross competition with a 1 over par 73, four shots clear of BMet College’s Chloe Williamson. Olivia Williams of Hartpury College finished in third place.

Freya Watts from Itchen Sixth Form College scored 71 to win the women’s nett competition with fellow player Cara Patient just edged out of second place on the back 9 holes, with a score of 74.

Women's Gross & Nett Results - AoC Sport Open Golf Championships (Celtic Manor)

In a very competitive team competition Hartpury College’s B team achieved a total score of 298, edging out runners-up SGS College by one shot. Hartpury College’s A and C teams occupied third and fourth place respectively with Itchen College A just behind in fifth place.

Team Positions - AoC Sport Open Golf Championships (Celtic Manor)

The overall national champions will be decided after the second event which will take place on 16 March at the Trentham Golf Club in Stoke-on-Trent.