Kate Bibby, a talented young golfer who trains at Ross-on-Wye Golf Club, recently competed in the European Golf Championships and finished in third place.

During the competition, the world’s best young golfers, aged between five and 18, descended upon East Lothian, Scotland. More than 600 players from 46 nations take part in the prestigious US Kids Golf European Championship.

Europe’s premier junior golf tournament showcases the next generation of stars. The championship was held on many of Scotland’s historic golf courses in East Lothian, including Gullane, Craigielaw, Luffness New, Longniddry, and The Glen.

Kate scored 78,76,75 for her third place finish in the European championships this year. The conditions were again tough, with very strong winds and fast and hard greens which made scoring well very difficult. Kate said “The courses in Scotland are very different than what I am used to in Dubai, and so I had to to rely on my short game to score well. I have been working hard with Tim Hall and Oli Leet on this part of my game and it really made a big difference, as last year I finished 10th, so to finish 3rd this year was brilliant.”

Kate Bibby aged 12, trains at Ross Golf Club, and competed in the girls 12 division played on Gullane No.3 golf course to challenge to be Europe’s best golfer.

Kate who plays most of her golf in Dubai, UAE plays off of a handicap of 4 and has had a very successful winter playing on the UAE Ladies Amateur Tour. She finished number seven on this tour with six top five finishes and a Runner -Up at the BMW Ladies Open at Jumeriah Golf Estates - on the Earth Course scoring a 78 (The same course on which they play the DP World Tour Finals-where Rory McIlroy won last winter).

Tim Hall, from the Tim Hall School of Golf, based at Ross-on-Wye Golf club, said: “Kate has been a part of our junior programme for the last three years now, and has improved year on year through her hard work and dedication. And it is great to see her do so well at international events.”

Oli Leet, who also coaches Kate, said: “We have been specifically working with Kate on her chipping and putting and it was great to see this part of her game make a big difference to her scoring at the European Championships.”

Due to Kate’s third place finish, she was selected to represent Western Europe against The Rest of the World team in the Van Horn Cup. Kate and her partner Beth Coulter played well, scoring a 5 under team score, which was the 3rd best score of the tournament. However, Western Europe lost on a sudden death playoff.

Kate once again will be off to Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA in August to play in the Junior World Championships. She hopes to improve on her 63rd place finish place from last year.

Tim and Oli said “We will be working several times a week over the next two months with Kate to help her get ready for August, and hopefully a top 35 finish is our aim for the World Championships this year for Kate.”