Le Cheminant ends with top-10 placing

BEKI LE CHEMINANT has finished a successful season with an impressive performance in Romsey. Despite being hampered by a heavy cold, the 14-year-old came in with a highly respectable 29 points in the Girls' Autumn Meeting.

'She was playing with 25 of the best Hampshire girls and came a creditable 10th,' said Peter Le Cheminant, Beki's father.

'It was the toughest course she has played by a long way and she could not eat breakfast that morning because she had a really bad cold.

'Had it been a competition in Guernsey and not away, she would not have played, but once she was on the first tee, she just focused in on what was in front of her.'

The tournament in Romsey completed a busy 2007 schedule for Le Cheminant in which she played 36 competitions, 12 of which were away from Guernsey.

The aim for the summer was simply to see an improvement on the previous season and she achieved that with flying colours.

An example was the 72-hole festival in Jersey where a round is played on consecutive days at Grouville, La Moye, Les Mielles and St Clement's.

Le Cheminant finished 31st out of 60 overall and on two of the days was second of the juniors.

Other highlights from the season included victory in the La Grande Mare Ladies' Open, with an outstanding Stableford score of 40 points in very difficult conditions, and reaching the Guernsey final of the CI Championships bronze section.

Her form also led to various team representations.

'For her to get picked for the Guernsey junior squad was fantastic and the next thing was she was asked to play for the ladies' bronze section team at La Moye,' said her father.

Le Cheminant has been assisted in her progress by coach Chris Douglas and Caroline Woolston, her fitness instructor.

Les Beaucamps School have also helped, allowing her to compete during term time.

Now the 21-handicap can enjoy a break before her 2008 campaign kicks off in early April.

'All in all it was a good season and at the end of the day, she is enjoying it,' Peter said.

'The Hampshire set-up is fantastic and for someone who hates travelling, she does it for the sake of her golf.'