First year Geography student Sophie Stone qualified for the Tour Finals

Exeter Golfers qualify for BUCS Tour Finals

Last week, five University of Exeter High Performance golfers competed in the English and Welsh BUCS Championship. The event, which took place at West Lancashire Golf Club, completed the qualifying stages of the BUCS individual Golf Tour. With a couple of Exeter players still yet to qualify for the finals, the stakes were high.

Having missed last month’s Exeter Invitational event due to injury, first year Geography student Sophie Stone put in a gutsy performance, creating a wire-to-wire win to hold off Exeter Golf Scholar Alex Saunders on the last day. Since Alex had already won the first qualifying event of the year at Little Aston, both Sophie and Alex have qualified in second and third respectively. Both have showed fantastic form recently and will be hoping to carry this momentum into the Tour Finals at Crail Golf Club in Scotland.

Exeter’s only male player at this week’s event was James Blyth, who managed to secure 11^th place. The highlight of his performance was a two-under-par third round score, which ensured his qualification into next week’s final. This result also secures James’ position as Exeter’s highest-placed male player on the order of merit, above Exeter Golf Scholars Monty Scowsill and Joe Carmody-Firth.

Performance Coach Steve Buzza commented, “These results are really promising. Confidence is high amongst the squad and the players are now looking forward to next week’s Tour Finals. I expect these strong performances will continue as the squad have been training hard and are on top form.”

Golf is one of Exeter’s nine focus sports. The University has a proud golfing tradition and is currently ranked first in the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Golf rankings 2014/15, having amassed more BUCS points in Golf last season than any UK institution previously. Last year, Exeter also became the first University to enter five teams into the BUCS Golf leagues, and the club is represented across the three leagues available in the South of England.

For more information about this story, please contact High Performance Coach Steve Buzza at S.Buzza@exeter.ac.uk or on 07791513358.

The University of Exeter Sports Scholarship Scheme is one of the most prestigious in the UK, helping the best student athletes reach their full potential. The scheme provides a comprehensive support package and is tailored to suit the needs of each individual athlete. Many of our graduating scholars have progressed to a professional level in their chosen sport and represented their respective countries on the global stage.

The University of Exeter has been awarded The Times / The Sunday Times Good Universities Guide 2016 Sports University of the Year, following significant investment and development over the past 10 years. The University has also achieved a Global 100 ranking in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The prestigious rankings, which mean Exeter retains its position as best in the South West, take into account a wide range of factors, including student satisfaction and research excellence. 

Date: 4 April 2016