It was definitely a happy holiday for Gary Wolstenholme when he was named in the New Year Honours List. The England international was awarded the MBE for services to sport.
"It’s a great honour and I’m very proud," he said. "I received a letter from the Prime Minister’s Office some three weeks ago and the biggest problem was not being able to tell anyone. It was burning a hole in my pocket so to speak.
"This means everything to me. It salutes the sacrifices I’ve made to the game over the past 20 years but this is not just for me. It is also for those people who have helped me achieve what I have. Those at my club Kilworth Springs, those who have coached me over the years, the people who helped me when I was in Bristol, and especially my mother without whom I wouldn’t have achieved anything."
Wolstenholme (pictured left – photo courtesy of Tom Ward) has been at the pinnacle of the men’s amateur game for three decades. He made his full England debut in the 1988 Home Internationals and has played annually ever since. He has also played regularly against France and Spain and in the European Men’s Team Championships, making overall 199 appearances for his country.
He has been a member of the past six GB&I Walker Cups, four times on the winning side, as well as three St Andrews Trophies and three Eisenhower Trophies for England and GB&I, once as a winner.
"Being able to represent your country, be it England or GB&I, means more to me than all the individual stuff," he adds. "The team events such as the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy are thrilling and I would say winning the Eisenhower in Chile in 1998 would be my ultimate success."
Despite turning 46 last August, Wolstenholme has lost none of his zest for golf and is about to launch another hectic year by jetting off to Australia in two weeks to represent England in a series of events.
"I’ve been playing golf for over 40 years, having started when I was four," he says. "Although I’m 46 years old I feel I’m 46 years young. I am still very ambitious and want to achieve even more in the game. A seventh Walker Cup would be high on the list."
Wolstenholme will receive his MBE at an investiture at Buckingham Palace, he hopes from the Queen, some time over the coming months. "I’ve been to the Palace with the Walker Cup team but I’ve yet to meet the Queen. So that would be a thrill," he adds.
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Lynne Fraser, EGU Marketing and PR Manager
Email: lfraser@englishgolfunion.org
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