YIDU Junior Team Championship
Doncaster Golf Club
Thursday 27th August, 2026
For only the 5th time since its inception in 1985, East Riding are the YIDU Junior Team Champions.
After a frustrating league campaign, when availability, weather and posturing cost the boys a fair crack at the title, it was perhaps ironic to travel to hosts Sheffield Union and return from Doncaster with the spoils.
No-one knew that the event would be cut short at lunchtime as torrential rain moved up the country, but play got underway from a revised two tee start at 7.40am with all 8 Yorkshire Unions fielding teams of 6 juniors, one of whose scores would be dropped.
The Ganton duo George Walker and Charles Wright were the foundations of the day’s success. George hovered around par all morning and held it together over the back nine as the rain arrived to post a brilliant 71 (+2).
Charles Wright once again showed his love of the course on which he won last year’s u16s Yorkshire title by carding a mature 72 (+3) to really put East Riding in the driving seat. He is pictured below eying up a putt on the 7th.
Callum Burns didn’t have his best stuff on a tricky Doncaster layout and battled to an 80 (+11) which would end up being be the East Riding’s dropped score. Here he is below on the 8th tee under the watchful eye of ERUGC President Alan Hutchinson.
That left another Ganton player Harry Earl and his Hull teammate Tom Hinks to card solid matching 74s (+5) to keep East Riding at the head of affairs, before Ewan Mackenzie’s 76 (+7) completed the team total of 369 (+24).
Agonisingly, Harrogate and Teesside (the newly crowned league champions) both finished one shot short on 370 (+25) and were no doubt itching to get back out there after lunch, along with home team Sheffield who were only seven shots off the pace.
The weather and golfing Gods (are they one and the same?) had other ideas and round 2 was cancelled as the torrential rain hammered down, leaving East Riding as 2026 champions – their first title since 2017.
East Riding swept the board at the presentation with George Walker taking the individual award for best score of the day for his 71 and Charles Wright won best morning round for his 72.
Jonathan Clark
ERUGC Press Secretary
