Kris Kim wasn’t the only English youngster to enjoy success this weekend; Will Hopkins, Nellie Ong and Sadie Adams all impressed.
Continuing his great start to the year, Hopkins held his nerve and won the Lytham Trophy in a three-hole playoff, birdieing the second hole after hitting a 185-yard approach to five feet .
The 24-year-old said: “I had a very shaky third round. I had to dig deep just to shoot a three-pointer. I sat there with a sandwich and just told myself to go back to the basics of breathing, routine and rhythm.” I reminded myself that Royal Lytham is not a golf course you can take on. I said, “Stay patient and let the opportunities come to you.”
“I hit a three-wood to eight feet [on the seventh] And then I knew I was playing well. As I walked to the 11th green, I saw a leaderboard and suddenly I knew I had a chance.
Jamie van Wyk, Daniel Hayes, Ben Bolton and Zach Chegwidden all finished in the top 10.
Elsewhere, Ong finally got her just reward at the Welsh Women’s Open Stroke Play Championship, shooting seven birdies on the third and final day to finish at 11 under.
In the girls’ Fairhaven Trophy, Adams fought brilliantly to shoot on par over the course of four rounds, finishing one shot ahead of Ellie Lichtenhein.
Kim made headlines after becoming the youngest player to make it to the PGA Tour in 11 years After a birdie in the last game, he managed to get into the CJ Cup by one shot over Byron Nelson in Texas.
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Simon Holmes is in the Audi Performance Zone to analyze 16-year-old Kim’s great swing
At 16 years and seven months, he was the youngest player to make it on tour since 14-year-old Guan Tianlang at the 2013 Masters.
He said: “It was a bit unclear, everyone was so supportive and it was great. I feel like I did well to make the breakthrough but was a little underperformed at the weekend, but I’m happy with my performance.”
“Playing in front of the fans was really good and makes me want to come back even more. I am very proud, especially considering the work I have done over the winter and throughout my life. I feel like it’s paying off. I definitely need to work on my endurance, I need to pay more attention to what I eat and eat more on the course.