Charley Hull Golf Day on The Shires Junior Golf Tour

Northamptonshire junior Eva-Grace Parsons had the thrill of playing alongside one of the best golfers in the world after qualifying to take part in the Charley Hull Golf Day on The Shires Junior Golf Tour at Woburn Golf Club.

The 12-year-old earned the opportunity to play a round of golf with Solheim Cup star Hull on the Marquess course after winning the Bronze Division in last year’s summer series on The Shires Junior Golf Tour.

Parsons, who was joined by fellow youngsters Edie Speirs (The Leicestershire) and George Herbert (Market Harborough) on the day, says it was a great experience to learn from the world number 13.

The Northampton Golf Club junior member said: “It was amazing. I was a little bit nervous to start off with, mainly because of the crowd and the fact that I was playing with a top professional. But she helped me a lot with that.

“I knew quite a bit about Charley beforehand. I watched her play in the AIG Women’s Open at Woburn in 2019, so I’d seen her swing.

“She told me how to get rid of the crowd and not focus on them. It was a fantastic course and the greens were amazing.”

Hull, who only lives a mile away from the youngster, added: “Eva-Grace was a little bit nervous, but she is a Barton (Seagrave) girl, so it’s nice to help the local juniors out.

“I got involved with The Shires Junior Golf Tour because I thought it would be great fun to play alongside the juniors. The standard was good – they were just out there having fun and enjoying it. Hopefully they made some good memories.

“When I was younger, there weren’t that many girls golfers around, which I enjoyed because I liked playing golf with the lads, and I think that has helped me into the golfer I am today. But obviously you want more girls playing, and grow the sport, so hopefully that will help do that.”