Leeds Rhinos fan and South Stand ticket holder Jennifer Conlon has continued her steady rise to become one of Europe’s best amateur junior golfers this year finishing 5th overall in her latest tournament in Portugal.
Jennifer Conlon, 15, who received the John Ahm Bursary grant in 2015 from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, to support her education, cemented her status as a golfing star of the future with another high finishing position in Portugal’s Oceanico World Kid’s Tournament last week and will now return to the Junior Africa Challenge in South Africa next month she first won back in 2014.
Jennifer’s rise started almost exactly two years ago, when she qualified for the Junior South Africa Open Challenge for the first time, going on to win the title in her age group and in doing so becoming the first British and European winner of the event.
Since then the 15-year-old from South Leeds has qualified for numerous ranking tournaments throughout Europe, the UK and America building up her reputation on the tour and a growing list of supporters from her community in Yorkshire.
Having picked up the sport just 4-and-a-half years ago, after watching local golfers while dog walking in Middleton, Jennifer’s natural ability and hard work in fundraising to realise her golfing potential, will see her return to South Africa this August in Durban to attempt to regain the title.
Jennifer’s story so far has seen her move from her local club at Middleton Golf Club, the location pivotal to Jennifer’s start in the game, to going on to work with PGA Professional Phil Akers, who mentored the Cockburn High School pupil at Oulton Hall Golf Club, where she began to develop her all round game.
2015 saw Jennifer take vital steps in her development, playing in ranking tournaments for the first time at Pinehurst in the USA through fundraising and support from the Hunslet Trust led by Andrew Beadnall, the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and family friend and former Leeds Rugby League player David Creasser, who did a sponsored Sky Dive to raise money for the tour.
Now three years on from her maiden success in South Africa, Jennifer enters the tournament with new levels of experience and golfing knowledge, working regularly with Golf Coach Thomas Levine and Sport Psychologist Mark Barber and is now playing regular tournaments in her new surroundings at Pontefract and District Golf Club
Kath and Gary Hetherington, who have followed Jennifer’s career closely since awarding her the John Ahm Bursary Grant in 2015, have assisted the precocious talent in her education, which has seen Jennifer gain valuable experience both on and off the green, playing in the lady’s team, but also benefiting from some golf related work experience at the Pontefract and District Club, where she has now signed up for this year to improve her golf.
Jennifer’s Dad Craig, who has seen sporting success run through the family with Jennifer’s brother Thomas, also a Youth Team Goalkeeper at York City, has been overwhelmed with the support of the Leeds community:
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride over the last three years seeing Jennifer’s career blossom so quickly and we have been very grateful for the support of everyone who has fundraised to help Jennifer realise her potential and play against the better players on the tour and improve her game.
“I’d like to thank Gary and Kath Hetherington for their support and funding from the John Ahm Grant which will continue to help Jennifer with her education. Kath in particular has been brilliant taking Jennifer over to Pontefract to get regular play and learn more about the rules and regulations which will no doubt help her in competitions going forward.”
With a professional career very much the target for Jennifer, who turns 16 in September, the young star will continue to learn about the other sides of the game and is applying for a place at the Myerscough College in Preston next year to take on a Level 2 BTech qualification which covers all areas of golfing from green Keeping to golf coaching.