27 Nov 2012 at 20:40 | Published by: Hans | Views: 15365 | News search

The winning team from KMGC in the dark November afternoon in Basingstoke  (Photo by KMGC 2012)

BMGA News Report
Supplied by Richard Gottfried

Kent Spitfires Team Wins National Club Miniature Golf Tournament at the 9-hole Mini Golf Course in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The eleventh annual BMGA British Club Championship saw the Kent Minigolf Club win the title for the third year in a row after a daylong tournament played out at the Basingstoke Golf Centre’s 9-hole Mini Golf course. A total of twelve teams from seven of the British Minigolf Association’s Clubs entered the event. The Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club’s ‘Meerkat’ team was runner-up, losing to the ‘Kent Spitfires’ in the final match played over twelve holes. The Midlands Minigolf Club’s ‘A’ team defeated the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club’s ‘Mongoose’ team in the play-off for third/fourth place.

The winning Kent Minigolf Club ‘Spitfires’ team consisted of Michael Smith, Adam Kelly, Marc Chapman and team captain Sean Homer.

Commenting on the third win in a row, Kent Minigolf Club Captain Sean Homer said “Retaining the British Club Championship title on Sunday was a very proud moment for all of us in the Kent Minigolf Club. We were confident going into the event that we could make it three titles in a row and the spirit and determination within the squad of twelve players was very high. The Spitfires may have hit the winning putt to seal the title against a strong Cambridgeshire team in the final match of the weekend, but this is absolutely a victory for everyone at the KMGC. It was incredible to see all three of our teams top their respective groups on Sunday, winning all of their matches and it really shows how strong the talent is within the club. Perhaps most encouraging was that we had four players making their British Club Championship debuts on Sunday – Alex Pragnell, Dave Donnelly and Phil Exall in the Tornados, and Will Donnelly in the Hurricanes. All four performed superbly alongside our more experienced players and with more new players coming through for next year, the club continues to go from strength to strength. The victory was a fitting climax to another brilliant year for the Kent Minigolf Club and of course we will be looking to make BMGA club history next year with our fourth title in a row. VTK.“

The BMGA British Club Championship saw the twelve teams drawn into three groups in which each team played each other once, with the top two teams in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals. The best two third place teams also qualified for the knockout stage. A sudden-death play-off was required between the Midlands Minigolf Club’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams to see which side went through to the next round, with the MMGC ‘A’ team winning at the first-hole.

British Minigolf Association spokesman Richard Gottfried said “The Basingstoke Golf Centre's Mini Golf course was a great setting for the 2012 BMGA British Club Championship and proved a good test for the teams taking part. The eleventh edition of the tournament saw the largest field ever compete in the British Club Championship and the British Minigolf Association would like to thank all of the teams and players for competing and all of the team at Basingstoke Golf Centre for hosting the event. We’re looking forward to a return to Basingstoke for more BMGA tournaments in the future.”

BMGA British Club Championships Honours Board:
• Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club – four time champions
• London Minigolf Club – three-time champions
• Kent Minigolf Club – three-time champions
• Midlands Minigolf Club – one time champions

The 2012 BMGA British Club Championship was the largest edition of the event since it began in 2002. The Minigolf Clubs that competed at Basingstoke Golf Centre were – the Kent Minigolf Club; Basingstoke Minigolf Club; Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club; Hampshire Minigolf Club; London Minigolf Club; Midlands Minigolf Club and the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club.

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