Charlotte Naughton became the youngest ever winner of the Northumberland Ladies County Championship at Blyth GC yesterday.
FORMAT 36-hole stroke play / 4 rounds of matchplay
The Ponteland junior only turned 14 in March but on her way to making history, beat last year’s champion Rebecca Ferguson (quarter-finals), her sister Zara (semi-finals) and finally former pro Claire Brown at the third extra hole.
She beat the record set by England Women’s squad player Rosie Belsham, who was 15 when she won it in 2017. The Whitley Bay player watched the final few holes of the final having just arrived back from the USA, where she is at college.
Charlotte, who is a member of the regional training squad, was especially pleased to have beaten supremely strong players in the latter stages.
“I felt so happy and proud to have won because I’ve worked really hard,” she said. “I was proud of myself for keeping my composure in the final as there was a lot of pressure. Winning this event means so much because all the work I’ve put in and it gives me a lot of confidence for forthcoming events.”
The final turned into a fascinating battle between the young pretender and Brown, who won the county crown as a 19-year-old in the late 80s. The county vets champion also lost in the final last year.
However the experienced player’s brilliant short game kept her in it right until the death as the teenager played some brilliant stuff.
Charlotte only registered her first bogey on the 14th, which reduced her lead to one. Brown also won the next before the teenager regained her lead at 16 thanks to yet another birdie.
However the youngster found a fairway bunker at 18 and her second bogey of the final opened the door and Brown’s par was enough to take the match into extra time.
The first two holes were halved in pars but the youngster reached the green in two on the par five third and a birdie wsas enough to seal the deal.
Earlier in the day the one handicapper beat her sister 3&1 in the semi-finals but Zara quickly put that behind her and caddied for her little sister after lunch.
Charlotte added: “My semi-final was really hard, especially as I was up against my older sister Zara, who is a really strong golfer. So beating her on hole 17 gave me a really big confidence boost as I had beaten two very good golfers to get to the final and then I knew Claire Brown was also really good too. There were also a lot of people watching and I got a massive clap when I won the match.”
On Sunday there was also a very special moment for beaten quarter-finalist Coralie Bretez, who aced the 13th in the second round of 36-hole strokeplay qualifier, won by Hexham’s June Lomax.