Date of issue: 14th June 2005

SPORTS MANAGER SETS JAMIE ON COURSE FOR SUCCESS

A Birmingham chartered accountant is making sure one of the region's budding young golfers is on course for success after 13-year old Jamie Carney from Shirley won the Wessex Junior Masters last week.

Jamie's uncle and sports/accounting manager Michael Meakin specialises in managing the business affairs of up-and-coming sportsmen and women and those working in entertainment and the media. Michael is managing partner at chartered accountants Clement Keys, Birmingham, where he also heads the sports and entertainment unit.

Jamie Carney first picked up a golf club aged eight and, while there is no family connection to the sport, has since developed a passion for the game. Now, he is a regular at his local parkland course, Shirley Golf Club, where he receives tuition from club professional
Stuart Bottrill and plays regularly for Warwickshire in county Under-16 events.

Jamie's first taste of golf was when his best friend's grandfather took them to the Four Ashes Golf Club to learn the basics during a series of beginners' courses. Seeing that Jamie was progressing well, club professional Steve Dunbar helped him get in some practise at the nine-hole course at Tidbury Green before putting him in touch with Stuart Bottrill, the club professional at Shirley Golf Club.

"Stuart has an excellent reputation for his work with young golfers and has been instrumental in boosting the membership at Shirley Golf Club by delivering a steady influx of youth players, so we were grateful for his advice," says Michael.

Shirley Golf Club admitted Jamie as a member when he was 11 years old, but only after a formal interview and thanks to the recommendation of an existing player - his headmaster Ed Carter, who is in charge at Peter Brook Junior School!

After winning the inaugural Warwickshire Schools Under-11s Championship in 2003, Jamie went on to represent Warwickshire in the Under-16s age group when he was only 12 and a year later is a regular member of the county squad, playing off a handicap of seven.

"Jamie's a very unassuming lad with extraordinary ability but comes from an ordinary family which has never been involved in anything like this before, so the way Jamie has attained such a high standard so quickly has rather taken them by surprise," says Stuart Bottrill.

"Jamie is now entering key tournaments which will give him valuable experience and enable him to establish himself as a name to be reckoned with."

The Carney family was delighted when Jamie won the Wessex Junior Masters on June 2. Sponsored by the Golf Society of Great Britain, the tournament is one of a series of seven held throughout the year and aims to encourage youngsters to take up the game.

The fifth annual Wessex Junior Masters was organised by and staged at Bath Golf Club and attracted 63 children ranging in age from 6-14. Results were based on gross scores over
18 holes converted into scratch Stableford - giving participants the chance to achieve a competitive card even if they had one disastrous hole - and took into account players'
club handicaps.

Jamie's win in the Wessex Junior Masters has got Shirley Golf Club's 50th anniversary celebrations off to an excellent start. The club is marking the occasion by staging a series of special events throughout June.

"We're not sure how Jamie comes to have such an aptitude for golf, because neither his father nor any of his close relatives play, but he is quite a talent and although Jamie's education must come first, there is every reason to believe he could have a very bright future in the world of professional golf," adds Michael Meakin.

Michael and Stuart are monitoring Jamie's improvement and, as part of his development programme for this year, are setting challenging but achievable goals in order to understand where the opportunities lie.

There could be even more exciting times ahead for the Carney family if Jamie is playing off scratch by the time he is 14 and a half, perhaps even the PGA European Tour, which is Jamie's dream.