BROMSGROVE golfer Jake Jeff-Johnston won the inaugural Bromsgrove Golf Club Junior Masters League to cap off a superb year for the 10-year-old who also represented Worcestershire at county level.
The Barnt Green resident, aged 10, clinched the title by three points – after heading into the final event with a two-point lead in the Order of Merit standings.
And he ensured he finished ahead of his closest rival by securing second place in the sixth and final event to guarantee overall victory and take the Junior Masters League crown.
Despite trailing by two stableford points – accumulated as players complete the 18 holes – Jake kept his composure to claw back the deficit over the final four holes.
His second-place finish earned nine points towards his Order of Merit total – eventually finishing on 51 to pip his nearest challenger by three points.
The 10-year-old won event three and finished second in three others which were played over 18 holes off the back tees on the main golf course at Bromsgrove Golf Centre.
Jake said: “I’m quite happy to have won, particularly as it was the first year so I’m the first person to have my name on the trophy.
“At the start of the whole thing I was trying to get top three – it went down to the last four holes in the last event and I won by one point.”
And Jake’s success also saw him represent the under-14 Worcestershire County Golf Team on five occasions throughout the year – playing events in Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
The youngster won three of his five matches at county level and was named captain for one of the events – he has also impressively lowered his handicap from 22 to 9.9 and hopes to reduce this to scratch by his 12th birthday in May 2023.
Jake achieved all of this whilst managing his Type 1 Diabetes – a chronic life-threatening autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas produces little or no insulin – which he was diagnosed with in February 2019.
This means he must monitor his blood sugar levels whilst playing golf and administer insulin when required. Type 1 is not related to lifestyle, preventable or reversible, and currently has no cure.
November marks National Diabetes Month and the 10-year-old is well-supported by the fabulous paediatric Diabetes team at the Alexandra Hospital.
Jake’s short-term plan and ambition is be selected for the under-16 and under-18 Worcestershire county teams with the long-term aim to play for the England West Midlands Regional Squad.
He was first introduced to the sport by his father Mark and hit his first golf ball when he was just two-and-a-half years old.
Jake has been a member at Bromsgrove for the last five years and attends St George’s School in Edgbaston.
