DUKES MEADOWS’ 14-YEAR-OLD GOLF SENSATION SAMANTHA FULLER BECOMES US GIRLS CHAMPION

Samantha Fuller took up golf at the age of two and won her first tournament at the age of five. Now at just 14-years-old Sammy stands as the most successful English golfer for her age. 

Sammy’s passion for the sport however extends beyond the course; in a bid to encourage more girls to become involved in the sport she has paired up with StreetGames initiative Us Girls to become its golfing Champion.  

Us Girls aims to get 14-25 year old females more active by providing them with fitness and sport opportunities within their local communities. Sammy’s role as Champion is a volunteer role and as part of the prestigious FC** Golf Academy, based at Dukes Meadows in Chiswick, London, Sammy and Us Girls will hold open master-classes and golf days to encourage more young women to take up the sport.

Sammy Fuller said:

“Golf is a massive part of my life and I have been so lucky with all the help and coaching I have been given at Dukes Meadows golf academy. I hope that being a champion for Us Girls will mean I can help more girls understand why golf is such a fun sport to play and why it’s not just for boys.”

FC** Golf Academy coach Scott Margetts said:

“Sammy is a great role model for any young player. She stands out from the crowd with her ability to never let the game get into her head as you see so often in golf. She has such a strong mindset on the course and the true attitude of a champion.”

Sammy will join the list of other successful Us Girls Champions, who include its president Nicola Adams, Sophie Cox, Sarah Stevenson, Lucy Adams and Kate Grey. 

Claire Wheeler, Us Girls said:

“We are delighted to have Sammy on board as a champion. Despite her age she has already achieved so much and she has all the qualities to inspire other young females to take up the sport. We are very excited to work with her and her team at Dukes Meadows.”

-ENDS-

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About Sammy Fuller

Sammy has collected accolades across the world, beating substantially older girls in the process. Her top triumphs include being a 6-time winner of the Florida International Championship, a record for the tournament. Recently she was the youngest player selected in the Great Britain under 16 squad for the Vagliano Trophy and the youngest player to represent England at under 18 level in the home internationals.

In 2013 Sammy had 3 top 10 finishes in Major Ladies Amateur Championships including the Irish, Welsh and English Championships. She managed to win her first ever English Ladies ranking tournament and due to her success has been selected for the Under 18 England National Girls Squad.

Full list of accolades:

• Started playing golf at 2 years old – at 5 she played in her first tournament at Dukes Meadows (U16) and won.
• Age 5, won the wee wonders U6 national championships by a record 25 shots.
• She is the only player (boy or girl) to win every age group at the British & Irish Wee Wonders Grand Finals.
• She has represented Surrey, England and Great Britain.
• She has won the European-U.S kids golf championships 4 times and holds their record for most international wins.
• She has won the British and Irish young masters 4 times, winning the overall girls title age 12.
• She’s won the U13 English girls title and U14 Scottish girls title.
• Florida International championship – 6 time winner (Record).
• She won the overall U18 title at just 13
• Won the Honda Junior classic x 3 at the famous PGA national.
• Single figure handicap by the age of 9, Played off scratch by age of 13 (currently +1)
• 14 she won her first English ladies ranking tournament.(She is ranked 3 in English girls under 18 and 9 in the ladies.
• Represented GB U16 – youngest player
• Youngest player to represent England U18 in the home internationals
• English ladies representative at the Nations cup in Ireland
• 3 top 10 finishes in major ladies amateur championships  (Irish, Welsh and English championships)
• She represented and played at the county week for juniors at the age of 11 and played for the ladies at the age of 13 for Surrey. (Both winning teams).
• Is the youngest player to be selected for the England Girls Squad

• BBC interview with Sammy Fuller in 2008: http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/london/series9/week_four.shtml

• Chiswicklifetv.com interview with Sammy Fuller in 2010:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJV9VN3Za30

About Dukes Meadows

TENNIS

The tennis facilities offer 5 hard indoor courts, which were resurfaced in February 2013, and 4 outdoor clay courts, together with a purpose built tennis academy section.

Dukes Meadows is the home of the UK's leading elite academy: FC** tennis. Pay and play tennis is available to all age groups and standards, children and adults. Total beginners to professional players. A full calendar of coaching courses, tournaments and events is available.

GOLF

Dukes Meadows Golf features a beautiful 9 hole par 3 course and 50 bay floodlit driving range (including a custom club fitting bay and a digital video tuition studio). In addition, there is a 5 hole teaching academy course, short game practice area and practice putting green. A team of 10 experienced PGA Pros are on hand for instruction and to offer advice in the well stocked pro shop.

SkiPlex

The chance to go skiing or snowboarding just minutes from central London. The facility at Dukes Meadows was the first of its kind in the UK. Similar to a treadmill in a gym, you remain still as the mountain moves underneath you. Ski for hours – no time wasted in lifts.

The Skiplex is available to all age groups and standards, children and adults. Total beginners to expert skiers. All skis, snowboards, boots, helmets etc provided where necessary together with it’s qualified ski instructors

For more information visit the website at: www.dukesmeadows.com

About Us Girls

Us Girls is a StreetGames initiative to get 14-25 year old females more active by providing them with fitness and sport opportunities within their local communities. The programme initially received £2.3 million of National Lottery investment from Sport England as part of its 'ActiveWomen' campaign to tackle the gender gap in sport.

The two year programme smashed its target and managed to engage with 34,481 young women and girls to participate in sport.  This was achieved by running female only session in a variety of sports to meet demand and mass participation festival called Us Girls Rocks Festivals.  Although the Lottery funding has finished the Us Girls initiative remains the female only strand on StreetGames sports charity.

Us Girls president is Nicola Adams and we have various Us Girls Champions such as Sophie Cox, Sarah Stevenson, Lucy Adams and Kate Grey. 

For more information see here: http://www.streetgames.org/www/ug/content/home

About StreetGames

StreetGames is an award-winning national sports charity launched in 2007. A national partner of Sport England and a national centre of expertise for developing sport in disadvantaged communities, the charity helps to make sport accessible to all young people, regardless of their income or social circumstances. It does this by supporting and establishing local projects around the UK that deliver doorstep sport, i.e. positive activities and sport provided to young people when they want it, where they want it and how they want it. Over 2 million attendances have already been generated by StreetGames projects.

StreetGames’ ongoing work to change sport, communities and lives has been recognised by The Chief Medical Officer’s Public Health Awards, The Charity Awards, The Business Charity Awards and Beyond Sport. Additionally, in 2011, StreetGames’ Chief Executive Jane Ashworth was awarded an OBE for services to community sport. These commendations demonstrate StreetGames’ effectiveness in sport and wider impact on crime, health and community development.