THE Golf Foundation’s annual Unleash Your Drive event is all about one thing – growing the game and raising funds to support junior golf across the country, writes DevonGolf’s Brian Newman.

Qualifying events are held at clubs nationwide, with juniors competing across three handicap divisions. Scores are logged into a national leaderboard and the top 15 in each category earn a coveted spot in the national final at The Grove in Hertfordshire, hosted by Nick Dougherty.

This year’s final on August 11 saw three Devon juniors make the trip: 11-year-old Bobby Gibson (Torquay), 10-year-old Harrison Grainger (Stover) and Rex Mayer (Churston), aged seven.

For the sub-18 handicaps, the big prize on offer was a place in the Pro-Am at Wentworth in September – a seriously exciting event!

And the Devon boys didn’t disappoint. Harrison Grainger stole the show, firing an outstanding 38 points to finish third overall and book his place at Wentworth. He also picked up a Spider putter for good measure. Bobby Gibson wasn’t far behind, posting a very solid 32 points.

In the 18+ category, it was another Devon success story as seven-year-old Rex Mayer produced a brilliant nett 74 to take the win and a TaylorMade cart bag.

As Junior Development Director for DevonGolf, I was lucky enough to attend as a guest – and even more surprised to find myself paired with Nick Dougherty’s 12-year-old son, Max.

A fantastic young golfer with a handicap hovering around nine, Max is a real credit to the game and it was a real pleasure to play alongside him. I even managed a respectable 31 points myself on a seriously impressive golf course… I’ll take that.

All in all, a brilliant day, but the standout moment was seeing our Devon juniors shine on the national stage. Huge congratulations to Harrison, Bobby and Rex – fantastic ambassadors for Devon junior golf.