Golf starlet lines up in top competition

Darcie Smith will be one of 20 girls teeing off in the Abraham Trophy, an event run by England Golf which aims to find the “most improved under 18 girl golfer of the year”.

Qualification for the final, which is being played at Tiverton Golf Club in Devon tomorrow (Sunday), started on the March 1, 2012 and ran through to March 29, 2013. It was open to any English girl with an active handicap who was under the age of 18 on January 1, 2013.

All the entrants had to submit their best six nett scores between these dates, with at least one card having to come from a competition away from their home club. During the qualification period, Darcie reduced her handicap from 24 to 14 and is currently playing off of 12.

Darcie, whose home golf club is Chart Hills, is also a member at Lydd Golf Club and a cadet member at Rye Golf Club. She is a member of the Kent girls’ squad and plays on the Lee Westwood Golf Tour.

Her successes in 2012 included winning the Trailblazers Junior Tour Championship, qualifying for the regional final of the National Skills Challenge, where she came runner-up, and winning the Junior Open, Mayoress Trophy and Lady Captain’s Trophy at Lydd Golf Club. She also won the under-13 girl titles at both the North Kent and West Kent club competitions.

So far in 2013, Darcie has continued in the same vein, already winning the Junior President’s Cup Trophy at Lydd, taking home the Joan Austen Trophy from the Kent Girls’ Championship, which is awarded to the most improved player between the current championship and the previous, and representing the county girls’ team in its last four matches.

Darcie, who is reaping the rewards of a successful 2012 season, is very proud to be representing her county and her clubs in the Abraham Trophy Final and the English Girls’ National Championships, which start in earnest on Tuesday (July 30), also at Tiverton Golf Club.