Seven qualifiers emerge in Solihull
A late-season regional qualifier for the 34th Junior European Open took place on Thursday 29 October 2026 at Shirley Golf Club, in Solihull near Birmingham, England. The event organiser's published results mark seven players with a Q, signifying qualification for the Champions Week Finals in Spain in November.
This is the Junior European Open run by Golf Organiser, not The R&A's separate Junior Open Championship. The location is in England specifically, not Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The seven names on the qualifying list
Among the boys, Cameron Kelly finished first and Charlie Hammond second. Archie Williams, Bobby Connor and Teddy Bailey-Jenkins shared third place. All five have a Q next to their names in the organiser's results, so all five secured a finals place.
The girls' qualifiers were Sofia Benitez, listed first, and Aliya Summers, listed second. Both are also explicitly marked Q.
Alfie Meaden received the separate Top Gun award. The results do not place a Q beside his name, so that award should not be interpreted as an additional confirmed qualification.
The published regional summary gives positions and qualification markers, but not a complete stroke-by-stroke leaderboard. It would therefore be misleading to invent round scores, margins of victory, birdie totals or handicap figures.
How the junior qualification system works
The organiser's regulations prescribe one round of individual stroke play at each regional final. The principal qualifying places are awarded on gross scores: at least two boys and one girl advance from each qualifier. In Solihull, the actual results specifically mark five boys and two girls as qualified, which is why the total is seven rather than the minimum three.
There is a distinct net-score Order of Merit pathway intended to broaden opportunities for younger entrants. That rankings route should not be confused with the regional gross-score qualifiers. The Champions Week Finals themselves are played off scratch, without handicap adjustments; the event is not a Stableford points competition or match play.
Spain next: 22–29 November
The official event notice schedules Champions Week Finals for 22–29 November 2026 in Estepona, Spain. The organisers describe a five-round stroke-play final and a qualification programme of 45 regional finals staged across Britain, Europe and selected other countries during the season.
Shirley Golf Club is an established 18-hole parkland course in the West Midlands. For the seven golfers named on its 29 October results sheet, the achievement is a verified place in an international junior final — not a forecast of how they will finish in Spain.
