Michael Smith on cloud 9 after convincing victory at the British Open in Margate

The British Open is always a special occasion and the 2024 edition was no different. The tournament was held at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, one of the toughest challenges on tour and a worthy venue for a BMGA Tour Major. There was a very strong field with over 50 players taking part and with a number of former winners in the field including Marc Chapman, Andy Exall, Seve Kukielka and of course Michael Smith. We also welcomed players from Austria, Czech Republic, USA and Sweden.

It was a difficult weekend for all as the tournament was severly affected by the weather conditions, with long delays to play due to significant rain fall. In spite of the weather issues, all 7 rounds were completed and it was Michael Smith that rose to the occasion averaging a score of 31.7 during the tournament. This was Michael’s 9th British Open win and he showed his class and talent in trying conditions winning by a 6 shot margin from Marc Chapman in 2nd and with Players Champion James Rutherford beating Seve Kukielka (4th) and Adam Kelly (5th) by 2 shots to finish 3rd.

In Category 2, Derek Bentall finished in 3rd place with Chris Wood and Elena Teubler tying for 1st place on level par. After a play off for 1st place, one of the country’s brightest female and junior talents prevailed to claim her Category win. A fine performance fro, all 3 players.

Category 3 saw local girl Chloe Allart-Bennett win by a margin of 7 shots from one of our international guests, Christian Hansen. British Female Champion Rachel King finished in 3rd place.

We were delighted to welcome our international friends to the British Open, it always makes the event more special. Having won the International Players’ Championships on the Friday, Daniel Vlcek claimed Top International with former WAGM Champion Patrick Riener (2nd) and current Austrian Champion Christian Adler (3rd) completing the podium. Thank you all for being at the tournament, we hope you will come and take part again next year!

In the team competition which is held over the first 4 rounds (with the top 3 scores each round qualifying), it was Strokes Minigolf Club that were the crowned the British Open Team Champions once again with a fine performance. Beating Gloucester Aces by 11 shots, with Thanet Silverbacks coming in 3rd place.

The British Open this year was part of the WMF World Adventure Golf Tour and by winning the event, Michael Smith automatically qualifies for the final which will be held in Portgual in May.

You can find the full results for the tournament here