DEVONGOLF
DEVON GOLF
THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION – JAKE BURNAGE
One of the interesting things about Jake is he didn’t play golf until he was 16. Football was his passion which he played with his friends in the village. He played for his school team from the age of 4 – the school coach lowered the team’s age level to include the 6 children who had just joined the reception class to play. Until the age of 15 Jake played football for Dolton, Torrington and Barnstaple.
Cricket also figured large and Jake played for Hatherleigh under the wonderful tutelage of Charles Inniss and the team made it through to the U13's National finals in 2009.
At the age of 16, Jake joined Libbaton Golf Club, then Portmore Golf Park before being invited in 2012 to join Saunton Golf club by the then Juniors’ Organiser Jun (Rico) to play for the Juniors' team. Saunton has become Jake’s natural golfing home and he takes great pride in his membership there.
Jake’s dad Clive, then a successful manager of local football teams, was instrumental in Jake’s sporting feats as he grew up. But as Jake says, “If it’s a ball then I want to play with it.” And it was dad Clive who introduced Jake to golf. Clive was a “floating golfer” who belonged to a friendly golfing society playing once a month at different courses in Devon. It was during the Easter holidays in 2011 that Jake joined them and instantly got the bug. From that moment his days were spent at Libbaton Golf Club – 9am to 9pm every single day.
Jake credits his hard working and dedicated parents for much of his success. Dad, clearly a man of many talents, was in a band for many years and he taught Jake to, “Stand up and enjoy those butterflies on that first tee and not be scared of it.” Dad was beside Jake when he hit his first ball at his first tournament and those words have resonated with him ever since. Jake’s mum, Louise, doesn’t play golf but knows a fair bit about dedication to a sport. Louise once trained and rode event horses at a national level and in dressage competitions around the south west.
Having taken little interest in golf until he was 16, Jake had no golfing heroes to whom he could look up. But as he progressed to county level in just 2 years, Jimmy Mullen became an inspiration and role model. Then Rory McIlroy became a favourite because of the way he hits the ball. Ian Poulter is also on Jake’s radar because of his sheer determination and passion for the game.
It took Jake just 3 years to get his handicap to scratch and he entered the English Amateur Championship in 2014 and got to the quarter finals. An impressive display of consistency at the top level resulted in England selection by 2017. Now aged 23, Jake’s handicap is -4.6 and he has again in 2019 been selected as part of the England Golf Elite squad.
Jake, by his own admission, is a very determined and competitive person, which he firmly believes you need to be to succeed. “Like any sport there are ups and downs, there are people who want to destroy you along the way as you become more successful. I am lucky that I have an amazing family behind me who have been there for me through some very tough times. They made me see the bigger picture and kept me focused on playing the game. I believe you need to go through the hard times to be able to come out the other side a better person and a stronger player mentally, it's all part of the learning and the journey.”
Ever modest, Jake says, “Without the support of my parents and their total dedication to me, I wouldn't have got as far as I have today. They are 100% behind me all the way and I am so grateful to them for all they have done to keep me going and all they continue to do for me.
“For the first few years up until 2018, my parents would travel around the country watching almost every tournament, my mum's holidays from work were booked to coincide with the big tournaments. The only reason they don't come to the overseas tournaments is purely because of the costs involved
“My immediate plan is to aim for Walker Cup selection. I am focused on working hard and getting some decent results in the domestic season with a few potential overseas tournaments in July. I've had a few invitations to several high-ranked tournaments in the USA on the strength of my WAGR and they could prove to be important.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few people for their help and support along the way and those who continue to help me. To Albert and Tiffany MacKenzie, the late Tony Peace, Sarah Peace, England Golf, DevonGolf and, of course, Saunton Golf Club and all the members, and to Dan Frost who continues to help make me a better player mentally, physically and technically.”
Jake already has an impressive list of titles and performances to his name and DevonGolf wishes him continued success in the future.
2014 Quarter finalist English Men’s Amateur held at Saunton Golf Club
2014 Devon County President’s Trophy winner
2015 4th Berkshire Trophy
2015 Scrutton Jug winner (best combined score from Berkshire & Brabazon Trophies)
2015 4th South of England; T2 Midland Open Amateur
2016 Chosen for England A Squad
2016 Scrutton Jug runner up
2016 Selected for Devon Golf & South West teams
2016 Devon Amateur finalist
2017 Chosen for England A Squad
2017 Selected by England to play the South American Amateur
2017 Hampshire Hog winner – Hampshire Salver runner up
2017 3rd Lytham Trophy
2017 Brabazon Trophy runner up
2017 Scrutton Jug winner
2017 Selected by England to play the Chiberta Grand Prix and Biarritz Cup
2017 Winner South of England Amateur Championships
2017 Selected by England for Home Internationals
2018 England Elite Squad
2018 Selected by England to play Australian Masters of the Amateur, Australian Amateur, Avondale & NSW Amateur
2018 Medallist at the Spanish Amateur, 4 shots clear of the field of 120
2018 3rd St Andrew’s Links Trophy
2018 DevonGolf Champion
2018 Selected by England for Home Internationals – winning team
2018 3rd at South Beach International in Miami
2019 England Elite Squad
2019 Top 32 Australian Amateur
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