Oscar Sharpe, just 14 years of age, is one of three new caps in the England team for the European Boys Team Championships being held at Rold Skov Golf Club near Aalborg in Denmark on 10th – 14th July.
The other newcomers are Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Haines while the rest of the team will be Jack Hiluta, Andrew Johnston and Eddie Pepperell as England seek to regain the title they last held three years ago.
Sharpe (photo © Tom Ward) is one of the youngest players ever to represent England at boys level, having made his debut for the under 16 team in last year’s match with Spain at Heswell. The Gloucestershire lad, who will turn 15 in September, enjoyed a triumphant 2006, winning the under 14, 15 and 16 national titles as well as the Douglas Johns Trophy and the North of England Boys Championship. He also won the Gloucestershire under 15, 16 and 18 titles.
A member of the England under 16 squad, the Millfield Schoolboy has enjoyed top-ten finishes in the Selborne and Hampshire Salvers and the McEvoy Trophy this year before winning the Ashton Vase at Long Ashton recently.
Fleetwood, 16, a former Lancashire under 15 champion, has played for England at under 16 level for the past two years. He finished third to Sharpe in the North of England Boys last year and represented England in South Africa earlier this year. Recently he won the Southport and Ainsdale Bowl and finished runner-up in the Lancashire Championship.
Haines, 17, an emerging talent from Kent, has hit the national scene this year after winning the McEvoy Trophy in April and finishing tied fifth in the Hampshire Hog.
Hiluta, 18, from Essex, completed five wins from six matches on his debut in last year’s Boys Home Internationals in Scotland. A former under 16 cap, Hiluta reached the last 16 of the Spanish Amateur in March and has also represented England in South Africa and the United States this year.
Middlesex-based Johnston, 18, also made his debut in last year’s Boys Home Internationals and was a semi-finalist in the British Boys Championships. Another former under 16 cap, he finished runner-up in last year’s South East Junior Championship and in this year’s McEvoy Trophy. He was also the best placed English player in the recent Skandia Junior Championship in Sweden.
Pepperell, 16, won the English Under 14 title in 2005 and was runner-up to Sharpe in last year’s Under 16 Championship. He represented England at under 16 level before making his debut in last year’s Boys Home Internationals. Earlier this year he played in South Africa before losing a playoff for the Hampshire Hog and finishing tied fourth in the McEvoy Trophy.
England have won the European Boys title on eight occasions since 1980. They were champions in 1981, ’85, ’86, ’89, ’94, ’95, ’99, and 2004.
The complete England team is: Thomas Fleetwood (Formby Hall), Matthew Haines (Rochester & Cobham), Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford), Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex), Edward Pepperell (Drayton Park), and Oscar Sharpe (Minchinhampton).
Contact:
Lynne Fraser, EGU Marketing and PR Manager
Email: lfraser@englishgolfunion.org
Tel: 01526 354500
