The Jamaica Star :: Sport :: Jonathan Newnham's Putting above par

Matthew Chapman, Star Writer

Jonathan Newnham - file

On Wednesday July 9, Jonathan Newnham, a 13-year- old from Hope Pastures in St Andrew, won the Boys' 13 and Under Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship in spectacular fashion.

He won his age group's competition by a staggering 12 shots and at the same time his gross score of two under par for the entire competition was the best overall of the age groups. He arrived at this score on the par-72 course in Trinidad by carding an outrageous 68 on the first day, followed by a 75 on the second day and a solid 35 on the final round (which was stopped after nine holes due to heavy rain).

Steely sporting character

When father Mark Newnham was asked after his son's triumph whether young Jonathan expected to win the competition, his answer conveyed a lot about his son's steely sporting character.

"He is a pretty confident player; I think he had hopes of winning and he has such a talent that under the pressure of the competition, he was able to go on and win." Nevertheless, despite Jonathan's remarkable confidence in his chances, he was still delighted with his victory as attested by his father reporting that on winning Jonathan was, "Ecstatic, proud. he works extremely hard at his game. I think ecstatic describes it best of all".

His hard work is apparent for all to see in his fledgling golfing career thus far. Jonathan started playing golf at the age of seven and by the age of eight, he was already representing Jamaica at the Caribbean Youth Championships. He made the step up from being a Caribbean Amateur Junior to become the youngest-ever person to represent Jamaica in the adult Caribbean Golfing Championships due to his performances at the National Trials in May.

FAMILY TRADITION

Jonathan's passion for golf arises from a long-standing family golfing tradition. His grandfather on his father's side was a past Jamaican golfer and his father, Mark, was also an avid golfer before his golfing career suffered due to him pursuing a career in medicine.

Currently, Jonathan is learning his golfing trade under the tutelage of his coach, Jason Lopez and maintains his sharpness by playing regularly on weekends and partaking in golf tournaments almost every month.

Jonathan has recently finished competing in the Silver division of the British Junior Open for golfers under the age of 17 with handicaps between four and 10. The competition, which ended last Tuesday, was played at Hesketh Golf Club, just around the corner from Royal Birkdale, the location of this year's British Golf Open. The Junior Open was launched by Padraig Harrington, last year's British Open Champion, who this Sunday managed to retain his title. On opening the event he said, "I'd like to congratulate all the players who are here today. it's an achievement just to be playing in this event. You'll cherish these memories, no matter how the golf goes."

Stepping stone

The Junior Open has been a stepping stone for a number of golfing luminaries such as Sergio Garcia and Paula Creamer, the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour. The Junior Open proved to be a good learning experience for Jonathan who scored 83 on Monday and 89 on Tuesday. Jonathan finished in a respectable 60th position among a field of 105 of the best junior golfers from 68 countries across the world. Not one of the field finished with an under par score over the two days with the number one golfer, Steven Lam from Hong Kong, ending on two over par. Jonathan found the going tough as he was suffering from both jet lag and struggling with the unaccustomed rough that is the hallmark of a British links course.

"The rough of a lake-style course is much more brutal than the courses in the Caribbean and the wind is very hard to cope with," Jonathan said.

In the future, Jonathan has aspirations of turning professional but he realises he has a long way to go before turning pro and is focused on completing his academic studies.

"I think academia is very important. I think in another 10 years, I will maybe turn pro, in which time I need to work on my weaknesses - my short game really," he added.

His father concluded by wisely pointing out: "His parents will have to guide him very carefully. We are keen for him to finish school- even Tiger went to college."