Six of England’s most talented youngsters have been selected to compete for the Nations Cup as part of the English Boys Under 16 Open Stroke Play Championship for the McGregor Trophy at Worthing Golf Club, Sussex, on 5th – 6th July.
One three-man team will consist of Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall), Adam Myers (Northants County) and Darren Renwick (Worthing), and the other will comprise Tom Berry (Wentworth), Bill Downing (Truro) and Eddie Pepperell (Frilford Heath). The reserve is Eamonn Hodgson (Sunningdale). All six are members of the England under 16 training squad and some have already been capped at under 16 level.
Last year, Fleetwood, 15, finished runner-up in the McGregor Trophy, won the Lancashire boys under 15 title and played in the under 16 matches against Scotland and England Girls.
Myers (pictured – photo courtesy of Tom Ward), 15, is the reigning English under 16 champion, who also finished fourth in the under 14 Championship. The Northamptonshire lad also played against the Scots, Spain and the English Girls.
Renwick, 16, from the host club, has been capped at under 16 level for the past two years and enjoyed a successful 2005, winning the Scottish under 16 title and the Douglas Johns Trophy.
Berry, 15, finished runner-up in the English under 14 Championship last year but won the Surrey under 14 title, while Downing, 14, from Cornwall, finished runner-up in the 2003 English under 14 Championship when aged 11, and fourth in last year’s McGregor Trophy.
Pepperell, 15, is the current English under 14 champion and the BB&O under 14 title-holder.
A total of 15 teams from the Home Countries and Europe will compete in the Nations Cup over the first 36 holes of the McGregor Trophy and will be decided by the aggregate of the best two from three scores each round. In the event of a tie the Cup will be shared. The Netherlands are the holders following their victory at Radcliffe on Trent a year ago.
In the McGregor Trophy itself, Myers faces stiff opposition if he is to retain the title, not least from his Nations Cup colleagues. Fleetwood led last year’s championship until the final stages and finished second, while Downing was joint fourth.
Tom Lewis, 15, from Hertfordshire could also have a say. Seventh last year, he was third in the under 14 Championship and joint winner of the Hazards Trophy in last year’s under 18 Championship.
Past winners of the under 16 title include Jim Payne, Steve Webster, Graeme Storm and Justin Rose, who all went on to successful professional careers, while more recent champions have been internationals James Heath, Michael Skelton, Paul Waring, Matthew Baldwin and Oliver Fisher, who won the St Andrews Links Trophy at the weekend.
A total of 184 entries were received for 132 places. Those players with handicaps of five were balloted out, while 12 with handicaps of four are on the reserve list.
The title has also been won by non-British players on three occasions, by Eduardo Molinari in 1996, by his fellow Italian Roberto Paolillo in 1997 and by Wouter de Vries from the Netherlands in 2003.
Contact:
Lynne Fraser, EGU Marketing and PR Manager
Email: lfraser@englishgolfunion.org
Tel: 01526 354500
