It’s unlikely that any local golfer has gathered more achievement column inches in Midlands Golfer than Shropshire’s Lauren Crump. An impressive feat considering she was just three-years old when we began! Lauren wins a lot of junior competitions, and in 2026 her star has only risen higher as she took on bigger and more prestigious events with great success.
It was about time we had a chat, so Mandy and Phil met Lauren, her mum Catherine and her lifelong coach Rob Ashbrook at Rob’s new Toptracer driving range, Ashbrook Golf Zone. It’s where Lauren practices now, just two miles from her home club, Hill Valley in Whitchurch, Shropshire, where it all began,
Lauren has just turned 17, we imagined she had been golfing since her very young days, that isn’t quite the case. Turns out she had Covid to thank, as Catherine started the conversation.
“We thought we needed to give them (Lauren and sister Lucy) something to do in lockdown to get them away from TV screens for a while – golf was open so we took them both to the practice area at Hill Valley.”
Catherine and Lyndon, the girl’s dad are long time Hill Valley members and passionate golfers themselves, this story has family ties running right through it. Lauren, once hitting a few balls aged 11 in 2020, was hooked from the start.
“I just really enjoyed it and hit balls every day from then on, started lessons with Rob on the practice ground and it developed from there.”
Lauren’s rise in the ranks was a rapid one, at 13 she got herself in the Shropshire set up after beginning her competitive golfing by playing in mini-events on the European Junior Golf Tour.
“I did a few of them and then wanted to do other stuff as well, so I was happy to join the county and worked my way through that, extra coaching and taking part in county week. It was fun as everyone was more or less the same age back then.”
Her first major win was becoming the Shropshire Girls County Champion, aged just 14. It gave her a huge boost in confidence.
“Some of the girls I played against have already gone on to USA College and stuff. Winning that one when I was younger than them, it was OK, obviously I can beat people who were older and really, really good at the time. Maybe I can really pursue this and there’s a good outcome, it really was my kind of starting point.”
So how did Lauren, who began golfing later than most promising juniors, stand out so instantly? We asked Rob that question.
“I think it’s not just the ability that’s got her this far; it’s just her amazing work ethic too. I remember winters at the club, sweeping the snow off the mats so she could practice. Freezing cold days, all weathers, Lauren was there. When I’m out there, shivering and freezing, Lauren’s hitting balls!”
Soon, the national selectors came calling. Lauren had been on their watch list for a while.
“They reached out after I’d won the English Girls and then the Scottish Girls, (both in 2024.) They were like, we’d love you to be on the girls’ team. That first year though was quite scary, I didn’t know any of the other girls. But it was also pretty exciting, I got picked for quite a few events to represent England by myself which was really good.”
Lauren’s integration inside the England Golf set up was as seamless as everything she’s done so far, more successes at individual and England team levels soon followed.
Unsurprisingly, she attracted plenty of attention from over the pond. The USA College network have been in touch, rather a lot as Catherine confirmed to us, and a little pushy they are too. But this girl and her family, aren’t for turning, American college life is not in the plans.
“It just didn’t seem my thing, and some of the coaches just acted a little needy and persistent, I was like, OK this is a bit much.”
It’s a bit of a beaten path for many young UK golfers who do go to America. Out of those invited, more do than don’t, but Lauren is determined to do it her way and is studying Psychology and History at A Level in Whitchurch instead.
2026 has seen Lauren go up another level still, she’s taken on the adult ranks and not done too badly at all. Her win at the Rose Ladies in June where she defeated a strong field of LET standard adult professionals was a highlight – has it been her best year to date?
“It took a while to get this season going, start of the year it wasn’t rubbish but not quite what I wanted. So I was like, I can’t let the rest of the season go like this, I worked on some stuff and saw some progress from April, and then Rose Ladies came along. When I won that one it boosted my confidence back up and led to the rest of my year.”
The Rose Ladies was the professional breakthrough, now Lauren really believed. “I remember looking at that leaderboard, and OMG!”
Then she surpassed her own expectations even further, qualifying for The Ladies Open Championships by finishing third in the wind and rain of St Annes Old Links. Not long after, she was ready to tee it up with the world’s best, at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
“It was a tough qualifier but so special to qualify for the Open. Wow, now I’m going there to play instead of just watching! I had lots of people who came out and watched me, which was really nice. It was such a different experience at the Open. The longer the week went on, the more people came out. In the practice rounds people were like, oh there’s this young girl here, an amateur, so I got followed around quite a bit. Then I got to sign autographs and stuff, just weird, but in a great way.”
“Second round, I had a midday tee time and there were literally hundreds of people watching me, it was like oh my god! I’m stood there with everyone literally 10 yards away from me, really quite scary. But at the same time it was definitely one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had in my career so far.”
Given that level of pressure I’d (Phil) have shanked it for sure, but Lauren didn’t, followed by many of her Shropshire golfing friends and lots more spectators she did mightily well in her first major – missing out on the weekend by just a single shot. The experience though was way more important than the result, Lauren had arrived and she knows now that she belongs in this sort of company.
No time to dwell in what was turning out to be some summer. The Junior Solheim Cup was just around the corner.
“At the start of the year that wasn’t an event I was considering, it was like, if it happens, it happens. But then I won the Annika Invitational in June and that got me quite a few points. Then I was like, OK it’s now a possibility.”
“To play on the same course that the women played on was like really cool, our team was so nice and to play against the Americans and see how differently they do things to us was pretty cool as well.”
To top it all off and get our chat completely up to date, the icing on the cake, the Junior World Championships in Canada in October. Team and individual.
“To go with the girls I grew up with and be a part of such a good team was good enough in itself. But to be in contention individually, yes it was very stressy on the final day and the team were with me to keep me calm. At the start of the week, I knew I was playing well, the course suited me, it was really windy so it played long. After the first two rounds I was there or thereabouts and then had a really good round three. Then it was just a case of keeping everything steady on the final round.”
Lauren finished on 11-under par, taking the title by just a single shot and becoming the Junior World Champion for 2026. One step further than in 2025 when she finished second to her close friend, Charlotte Naughton. Was this her best win so far?
“Simply just to say I’m a World Champ, it feels really weird to see myself like that, but yeah definitely my biggest win so far.”
So are there any thoughts of turning professional yet?
“It’s kind of just when i feel I’m ready, I can compete, I’m long enough and my game is good enough, see how it goes. My goal at the moment is simply to see how low I can get to in the amateur rankings, that could help me realise that it’s time to turn professional.”
The family wanted to mention their good fortune and gratitude as well in winning a Sports Aid award, the proceeds of which they used to get Lauren some specialist putting coaching with Lee Sullivan at Formby Hall. It made a big difference to her fortunes in 2026.
The future looks bright for Lauren, a level headed and fully focussed golfer making the most of her incredible natural talent.
Worth mentioning too that her younger sister Lucy is very much following in her footsteps at national junior level. If Lauren didn’t need any more motivation – surely sibling rivalry cannot fail to provide some!
Image credits (not including Open photos and top group pic) – Leaderboard Photography
