Belsham is Open to an England invitation
JUNIOR GOLF
A WHITLEY Bay golfer has her sights set on an England call-up after being selected to compete in the Junior Golf Open at the home of golf, St Andrews.
Rosie Belsham, 16, who has just completed her studies at Whitley Bay High School, has aced her way to success on the greens.
That has led to her call-up for the Open, on the St Andrew’s Eden Course from July 16-18.
Belsham said: “I am looking forward to playing against players from all over the world at St Andrews.
“It will the biggest competition I have played in so far and some of the best under-16 players from around the world will be there.
“It will be great to be able to test myself against them to see how my game compares.
“It will also be good to talk to them to see how much golf they play and what courses they play.
“It is a mixed girls and boys championship which means we all get to play together.”
The youngster has been involved in golf from the age of seven and has been Northumberland junior champion for the past three years, in addition to winning the Ladies’ County Championship in 2017.
Belsham added: “I started playing golf with my mum at seven and we are very competitive so we were always playing against each other to see who was the best.
“At Whitley Bay Golf Club they brought out a “cafe golf” membership which was a five-hole membership which included lessons and bar vouchers to help people get into golf.
“My mum started on that and I went along and played too.”
In addition to success in Northumberland, Belsham has also represented England at national level since she was 13.
She said: “I have been in the England Golf North Region squad since I was 13, at under-14 level.
“I was second in the Scottish Under-14 Girls’ Open which attracts many of the best under-14 players across Europe.
“This year I was runner-up in the Scottish Girls’ Under-18 Open.
“Then a week later I represented England in the Irish Under-18 Open Championships, finishing 13th overall and the England Team came second to Sweden in the Nations Cup event.
“In May, I was selected to represent England Under-16s in a match against Spain in Madrid but was unable to play as it clashed with my GCSE exams.”
Sian Oakley, Northumberland ladies’ vice-captain said: “Rosie deserves every success and her selection for St Andrews confirms she has been identified as a huge talent for the future.
“Northumberland as a county is thrilled for her and hugely excited by her success. When she was 13 she thrashed me 9 and 8 in a team match at Whitley Bay.
“Her handicap was supposedly 17 at the time – she was down to six about two months later.
“That is when I knew she was a stand-out golfer.
“She can now achieve big things in golf.
“She has the talent, drive and determination to go as far as she wants.”
Belsham now aims to keep progressing as a golfer and hopefully continue to represent England.
She added: “My aims for the rest of this season are to have more top10 finishes in national competitions and lower my handicap further into plus figures.
“Hopefully I can represent England in more competitions.
“After sitting my A-levels I would like to go to university in America on a golf scholarship and then possibly have a professional career in the game.”