Young Champions Compete at Lough Erne

The 2024 “Champion of Champions” World Championship came to a close under beautiful skies with a pledge that it will return to Lough Erne Resort in 2025.

This year’s tournament saw 250 competitors, aged 6 - 19, from 40 countries take part. Now in only its fifth year, the tournament has grown to become the world’s biggest Junior Champions’ Invitational.

Reflecting on the success of this year’s event, Tournament Director Michael Gallagher promised it would return to Lough Erne Resort next year.

Leading the local Northern Ireland challenge was Ben Oberholzer from Clandeboye Golf Club, who finished runner up in the Under 19 category. Also high up the leaderboard was defending World Champion Parker Bonnes from Galgorm Castle, who was pipped by just one shot in the Under 12 category, finishing in second position.

Lord Ian Botham’s grandchildren Benji and Harley Botham from Royal Belfast came second and third respectively in the Under 9 and Under 7 categories, making them the first siblings ever to finish inside the top three at the World Championship.

At the awards ceremony, Michael Gallagher said:

“Being able to sell a World Championship out in under 25 minutes is testament to the hard work our team does and the growing reputation of the competition. Each year we analyse how we can make the event bigger and better. We have already begun to plan how we can make the 2025 World Championship an even better experience for our VIP competitors at Lough Erne Resort.”