Scarborough 6th Form College golfers crowned as Northern Colleges League champions

The team of Jack Northgraves (North Cliff Golf Club & Ganton Golf Club), Tom Benson (North Cliff & Ganton), Sean Burrows (Malton & South Cliff) and Oliver Webster (North Cliff) are the Northern Colleges Golf League champions.

They are also the sixth ranked college nationally, with Northgraves the top ranked golfer in the region.

The AoC Northern Colleges Golf League has consisted of five rounds played at different courses, with each college taking a turn to host the events.

Across the competition there was a team gross and nett prize alongside individual gross and nett prizes.

Rounds were played at Ganton Golf Club, Cleveland Golf Club, Pontefract Golf Club, Huddersfield Golf Club and Rudding Park Golf Club.

Scarborough Sixth Form College made a strong start at Ganton Golf Club, with the team leading both the gross and nett standings following round one.

Cleveland Golf Club brought trickier conditions to compete in, but not tricky enough to stop Scarborough building on their lead at the top of the standings.

Pontefract provided a difficult test, as persistent rain in the week led to a very wet, damp course which made scoring difficult for everyone, apart from Northgraves, who carded an impressive one-under par round.

Thankfully the weather improved significantly for the round at Huddersfield, with another good day of scoring Scarborough reached an unassailable lead at the top of the gross and nett leaderboards, with the final round to spare.

The final event of the year was at Rudding Park, with the team competition already wrapped up, individual honours were still up for grabs, with Northgraves knowing that if he bettered George Vickers (Pontefract) score he would become the individual gross championship.

Scoring was good across the board with a few low scores on the par 72 course.

While Vickers hit an impressive 76, it wasn’t enough to stop Northgraves, who shot an excellent 73 taking the win on the day and the overall gross championship.

While dominating the regional championships the team have also competed on the national stage, playing in both National Championship rounds and North Yorkshire Golf Championships.

In October, the team travelled to South Wales to compete in the AoC National Open Championship, taking on the Roman Road course (Par 71).

The students fared admirably, showing high levels of skill and resilience to shoot very respectable scores.

Tom Benson led the way with a 75, securing a top eight finish, Jack Northgraves followed with a 79, Sean Burrows carded an 80 and Oliver Webster shot a hard fought 85 in tough conditions.

A wet and wild Trentham Golf Club lay in wait for the second round of the National Championships, the course was a tidy course with lots of opportunities to score well, having played it in nice calm conditions on the previous day.

Competition day brought lots of rain and wind, turning the event into a nine-hole competition.

Scores from the Scarborough team were good, leaving us as the sixth ranked nationally for college golf.

Finally, the English Schools competition started with qualifying at Malton & Norton in March.

Malton & Norton often is a scoreable course with reachable par 5s and some shorter par fours.

On the Par 72 course, Burrows carded a solid 80, Benson performed best out of the team with a 78, Northgraves followed closely behind with a 79 and Webster with an 83 completed the team’s scoring.

Thanks, must go to TorBakesCakes, The Columbus, Wilkes Fisheries, Pro-Am Kits and DCD Teamwear for their support of the team this season.

And the team’s new benefactor – the Mayors Community Fund, who have all helped to provide kit, travel and accommodation for the season.