MIillfield are World School Golf Champions

On 17th of April sixteen golfers from Millfield School accompanied by Karen Nicholls, Stuart Wells, Mr Hawksworth and Mr Cookson started their exciting trip to South Africa.

We landed in Johannesburg next morning after a tiring 12 -hour flight and headed straight to the charming Sun City Resort. As we arrived to the resort early we were able to go and see our first glimpse of the animals in the nearby Game Reserve, which was followed by a superb BBQ.

Next morning we had an early 5.30 am start for our Game Drive, we saw a large range of animals in wildlife. Afterwards we had plenty of time to spend practicing on amazing facilities of Lost City Golf Course. The next two days we were thrilled to play the Lost City Golf Course with it’s signature 13th hole, which you play over the crocodile pit. The last day in Sun City was exceptionally special as we were able to play the incredible Gary Player Golf Course, the home of annual Nedbank Million Dollar Golf Challenge, which is played by the top players in the world. Across the three rounds we played a Nett competition between each other, which was won by JJ Fletcher. While we were in Sun City we took an advantage of entertainment center, including a fantastic water park and variety of restaurants.

We headed back to Johannesburg on 22nd of April, where we stayed overnight in the Garden Court, Sanden City hotel. In the morning we had an opportunity to visit the shopping center, which girls couldn’t turn down. In the evening we took our flight to Cape Town, in hopes of winning World School Golf Challenge, held in Stellenbosch. We applied to the competition with 4 teams: Team A, lead by Stuart Wells (Jamie Clare, Matthew Sheehan, Moritz Hausweiler, Nic Elliot), Team B lead by Karen Nicholls (Sophie Keech, Anthony McGeorge, JJ Fletcher, Patrick Fereday), dream team C, supported by best team manager Kevin Hawksworth (Katherine Carragher, Zhanna Tarasko, Adan Yates, Joe Lovery) and last but not the least Team D, accompanied by Master in charge of Golf Phil Cookson (Digby Edgley, Joe Clare, Freddie Sexton, Adarsh Shah).

On a practice day a member of each team played one of the four challenging courses and was able to report back to the rest of the team. First day was played at the sunny Devondale Golf Course, which was aced by Matt Sheehan with the score of 2 under par. After the first day Millfield pupils were leading in most of the team and individual divisions. Second round was played at Erinvale, in spite of the rainy and windy conditions, most of the Millfield students still performed strongly. Third day was a rest day, which we spent exploring the beauty of Cape Town. We went to see Seal Island and penguins, stunning views from Cape point Lighthouse, followed by an enjoyable evening in Italian restaurant. Third round was played at Stellenbosch Golf Course, the tough old course design was tricky for shooting low scores, however Joe Lovery managed to make an eagle and finish 2 over par. On that day Millfield Golf team was privileged to be invited to use the outstanding practice facilities of the Pearl Valley Golf Course. In the last round, played at De Zalze GC, Millfield golfers produced some brilliant results, including a cheeky 5 under par by Jamie Clare. On the evening of the final round we traveled to traditional South African Wine Estate for the presentation evening. It was accompanied by African beats and incredible food.

Millfield performed very strongly throughout the competition. Sophie Keech, followed by Katherine Carragher and Zhanna Tarasko picked up first three prizes in the Girls Gross Individual Division. Jamie Clare won Boys A Gross Individual Division finishing 2 under par through 4 rounds. Anthony McGeorge finished 3rd in Gross Individual Division B. Katherine Carragher won Girls Individual Nett, followed by 3rd place by Zhanna Tarasko in the same division and Jamie Clare in boys A division. Team wise; Team A won Gross Team event by 25 shots in Boys Division. In mixed Gross division Team B and Team C were pleased with first two places, and 2nd and 3rd place in the Nett Division.

Overall, Millfield Golf Academy can be proud to retain the status of World School Golf Champions and hope to hold it in 2013!
We left South Africa on the 30th of April after morning session of Table Mounting. The trip was a lifetime experience and we would like to heartily thank Karen, Stuart, Mr Cookson and Mr Hawksworth for an incredible and unforgettable trip!

(By Zhanna Tarasko and Katherine Carragher)