Hartlepool golfer Graeme Storm will host his own Open

Hartlepool's European Tour winning golfer Graeme Storm will play host to more than 130 promising golfers when his very own tournament gets underway tomorrow.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Apr 2016, 13:09 BST
Updated 6th Apr 2016, 13:11 BST
Graeme Storm, centre, at Hartlepool Golf Club with Dyke Houses executive principal Andrew Jordon and ex-Pools manager Colin Cooper.Graeme Storm, centre, at Hartlepool Golf Club with Dyke Houses executive principal Andrew Jordon and ex-Pools manager Colin Cooper.
Graeme Storm, centre, at Hartlepool Golf Club with Dyke Houses executive principal Andrew Jordon and ex-Pools manager Colin Cooper.

The Graeme Storm Junior Open, in association with Dyke House College, will tee off at Hartlepool Golf Club on the same day the US Masters action begins at Augusta.

Golfers from across the north of England - and beyond - are preparing to compete in the new competition for junior golfers.

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“It should be a really great day,” said Storm. “We have chosen that particular day to coincide with the US Masters. It is a Thursday renowned across the world for brilliant golf.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the talent of the future play. There are some great prizes up for grabs and it should be a great occasion, and one, I hope, will become an annual event and go from strength to strength.”

All proceeds from the tournament will go to the Finlay Cooper Fund, the charity set up by former Hartlepool manager and Middlesbrough defender Colin Cooper, who will be watching the action.

There will also be a raffle draw to raise money for the charity. Prizes include a Ryder Cup 2014 shirt signed by the then Team European captain Paul McGinley.

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Cooper, an amateur golfer who started to play aged 14, said: “When Graeme and his wife Sara got in touch to say they wanted to raise some money for the Finlay Cooper Fund as part of their junior tournament it was exciting.

“We have been going for ten years. Everything we earn goes back to helping children.

“It is a good link up because it is an event for junior golfers and the Finlay Cooper Fund tries to offer relief to children when they need a bit of help in their lives.

“The raffle is fantastic too. I like my golf and if someone is offering prizes of that ilk I will certainly be buying tickets on the day because the mementoes Graeme has put together are fantastic.”

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The first of the raffle prizes will be a framed Graeme Storm Junior Open flag signed by Storm, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Matthew Fitzpatrick, David Howell, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Marc Warren, Chris Wood, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters, Thongchai Jaidee and Danny Willett.

Tickets for the raffle cost £5 each or can be bought in a three for £10.

The competition tees off at 9am.