Oliver Fisher, the youngest ever Walker Cup player, is included in a strong England team to compete in the Costa Ballena Quadrangular match in Spain at the end of January.
The 17 year old from Essex (pictured left) will line up alongside Elite Squad members David Horsey, John Parry, James Ruth and Paul Waring, plus A Squad member Gary Boyd at Place Costa Ballena Golf Club on 25th – 27th January.
Fisher has enjoyed a superb 2005. After helping England to third place in the Toyota World Junior Golf Cup Challenge in Japan, he made his full England debut in the victorious six-man squad that won the European Men’s Team Championships at Hillside in July. He was unbeaten in his singles during the Walker Cup in Chicago when he became the youngest ever GB&I player, just short of his 17th birthday, was a member of England’s Home Internationals team and helped win the mixed Spirit International in America. In individual events, Fisher finished joint runner-up in the Brabazon Trophy, reached the semi-finals of the Amateur Championship and the England Amateur Championship before tasting victory in the Duke of York Champions Trophy, the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship and the final of the Faldo Series.
Horsey, whose career hit a new level when he reached the final of the English Amateur at Hollinwell in 2004, has also scaled the heights this year. The 20 year old won the Cheshire Championship to earn a place in the English Champions Tournament which he took by storm, winning by seven strokes after shooting a closing 64, two shots inside the course record at Woodhall Spa. He recently partnered Gary Wolstenholme in the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup in Argentina following his inclusion in the Elite Squad for 2006.
Parry, the Yorkshire champion, who finished joint third to Horsey at Woodhall Spa, won the Danish Amateur Championship during the summer. That earned him an entry to the Vietnam Open on the Asian Tour in which he played all four rounds. The 19 year old from Harrogate, a former boy international and winner of the McEvoy Trophy, was also fourth in the inaugural South of England Stroke Play Championship at Walton Heath and helped Yorkshire win the English County Championship.
Ruth, 20, from Devon, has been capped at all levels over the past five years and has represented England at home and abroad. He made his full England debut against France at Sandwich last year when included in the Elite Squad for the first time and also played in the Home Internationals. He also helped his club Tavistock win the English Champion Club Tournament and played for Devon in the County Finals as he did again this autumn. A former winner of the Berkhamsted Trophy, this year he has won the St Mellion International, finished third in the Berkshire Trophy, represented England against Spain and again in the Home Internationals and reached the last 16 of the English Amateur.
This year has also been a defining time for Waring. After enjoying a successful international career at under 16, boys and youth levels, the Cheshire lad sustained what proved to be a long-standing injury in the autumn of 2004 which sidelined him for the best part of a year. He celebrated his recovery by becoming English champion over his home course at Bromborough in July then made his long overdue full England debut in September’s Home Internationals at Royal St George’s.
Boyd has been on the England scene for several years but is still only 19, having won the EGU Gold Medal as an 11 year old back in 1998. Capped at under 16 and boys levels, he was Midland Youths champion last year, finished third in the Carris Trophy (under 18s), and represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy. This year, Northamptonshire-based Boyd finished runner-up in the Hampshire Hog, reached the quarterfinals of the English Amateur and represented the EGU in the Chiberta Grand Prix in France, the Saab International and European Amateur Championship, both in Belgium.
The inaugural International Match Costa Ballena Golf in 2001 saw England emerge victorious against Germany, Sweden and Spain, a success that was followed by successive runners-up spots. However, victory was achieved again when the tournament was staged last January.
Like last year, the team will face opposition from Finland, Germany and Spain in a competition that is played on a round robin basis, each match comprising three morning foursomes and six afternoon singles.
England Team:
Gary Boyd (Northants County)
Oliver Fisher (West Essex)
David Horsey (Styal)
John Parry (Harrogate)
James Ruth (Tavistock)
Paul Waring (Bromborough)
Non-travelling reserves: Matthew Baldwin (Royal Birkdale) and James Morrison (St George’s Hill)
Contact:
For further information and photographs please contact:
Lynne Fraser, EGU Marketing and PR Manager
Email: lfraser@englishgolfunion.org
Tel: 01526 354500
