Bridlington Golf Club's George Rowell, 8, wins second Wee Wonders Britain and Ireland Championship
Eight-year-old Bridlington Golf Club Member George Rowell has won his second Wee Wonders British & Island Championship, earning himself another shot at the World Finals at Pinehurst in America next year.
Scarborough College student George finished runner-up at last year’s World Finals and will now be hoping to go one place better.
Having won his first Wee Wonders title in 2024 and then tied for the lead in 2025, only to finish second on countback, George, was again competing in the Boys 7/8 category.
This year, British professional golfer Aaron Rai’s father attended the final day of the championship. Aaron Rai won the US PGA Championship earlier this year and, during his interviews, put a lot of his success down to his early years competing in the Wee Wonders.
Aaron Rai also holds the boys’ record for the most Wee Wonders wins, with three titles.
Winning just one Wee Wonders title is a fantastic achievement in itself. The likes of Tyrrell Hatton, who George enjoyed meeting recently, fellow Yorkshire golfer Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood have all won a Wee Wonders trophy.
George, who is also a member of Scarborough South Cliff Golf Club, had a chat with Aaron Rai’s father and told him he wants to beat Aaron’s record and win four titles. Mr Rai simply said he hopes George does.
This year’s championship started with a little drama for George.
Having birdied the first hole, on the difficult par-three second George thought he had made a bogey four. It was then pointed out that George may have infringed a rule while putting.
It wasn’t immediately clear exactly what had happened or whether George had actually broken a rule. It was decided that the matter would have to be discussed at the end of the round with the rule’s officials. If a penalty was given, George’s score on the second would have to go down as a double-bogey five.
Understandably, George was a little shaken by this and hit his tee shot on the third into heavy rough. A lost ball meant three off the tee, resulting in a double-bogey six. Not the start George had hoped for.
The round could then easily have gone badly, but George picked himself up, made par at the fourth and followed it with two birdies in a row at the fifth and sixth, which included a fantastic up-and-down from a greenside pot bunker.
George then parred the final three holes to card a 35, level par, but with the potential for a one-shot penalty from the second.
After a discussion with the rules official, it was suggested that George should do what he felt was the right thing, and that doing the right thing now would benefit him in the future, not just in this tournament.
George decided to take the one-shot penalty.
That meant he finished the first round on 36, one over par, one shot behind the leader Louis Gavin from Northern Ireland.
George was now more determined than ever to play well on the final day.
The weather during the morning of the final round was horrendous, with strong winds and heavy rain. This didn’t bother George. As he will tell you, playing golf on the East Coast of Yorkshire means a bit of wind and rain isn’t a problem.
George birdied the first to draw level with Louis. Both parred the second and third.
The fourth hole was at the highest point of the golf course and putting was extremely difficult in the wind. Both George and Louis three-putted, remaining tied at one over par for the championship.
At this stage, it was really between George and Louis for the title, with Callum Laughtland from Scotland six shots back in third.
George and Louis seem to find themselves as the leading players in a lot of junior competitions and, although they are both extremely competitive, they are also good friends.
The par-five fifth hole really decided the championship.
George hit a fantastic drive, followed by a super-low three wood into the wind, leaving himself a 30-yard approach to the green.
Louis was struggling in the rough to the right of the fairway and eventually found the green in four shots.
George then hit a fantastic bump-and-run to three feet, a shot even his golfing hero Seve Ballesteros would have been proud of, before sinking the putt for a birdie four. Louis made a good two-putt, but for a six.
The Callaway Media team started to follow the group and as George is with the CallawayNextUp programme the cameras were on and the pressure increased.
George then went into his serious mode, making par, birdie and finishing with two more pars. He never really gave Louis a chance to get back into the championship.
George carded a final-round 33, two-under-par, to win the championship by three shots.
During George’s winning speech, he made light of the first-round drama by saying he’d had “more penalties than Ronaldo.”
He also thanked the Wee Wonders organisers, the tournament sponsors Callaway and all the players for another fantastic championship.
It is another Wee Wonders title for George at just eight years old, leaving him just one behind US PGA champion Aaron Rai’s record of three.
George and his parents are now considering whether to head back to America to see if he can go one place better than his second-place finish at the 2025 World Finals.