Fifteen-year-old Maggie Whitehead has already achieved plenty in golf but at the weekend she added another major achievement to her long list.
On Saturday, playing in the Close House club championship, the England Girls squad member (pictured above) broke the course record, surpassing the two-under-par 69 set by Amy Storey. She got to five under after ten holes and held her nerve to close with a 67, which also meant she won the competition by nine shots from former professional Claire Brown.
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“I holed quite a lot of putts,” said Maggie, who finished fourth at the recent England U-18s Championship, which was the first time boys and girls competed at the same national event.
“I kept hitting fairways and greens and it kind of just happened. I couldn’t believe I had gone out in 31.”
Maggie also believes her two appearances for Northumberland at the Northern Counties Match Week at Alnmouth were the perfect preparation for what she faced at her home course.
“The greens at Foxton (Alnmouth) were really fast so when I went back to Close it was like putting on the same greens,” added Maggie.
The plus three handicapper opened with a birdie and, after a bogey on three, recorded three birdies on the trot, starting on the fifth and added two more on the ninth and tenth.
From there on in she parred the rest, apart from the 16th where a bogey meant she came home in a level-par 36.
It did take a few hourse for Close House Managing Director Jonathan Lupton to confirm Maggie had the record but it almost certainly won’t take as long next time.