Hew Squirrell was a five-time winner of the Welsh Amateur and won both the Berkhamsted Trophy and the Hampshire Hog. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

HEW Squirrell – one of Wales’ and Hertfordshire’s most successful-ever amateur golfers – has passed away aged 87.

The Welsh international won five Welsh Amateur titles, represented his country in the Home Internationals 19 times between 1955 and 1975.

Squirrell was part of the first Wales team ever to beat England in 1961 and won a number of big competitions in the UK during his illustrious amateur career.

Hew, when asked about the victory over England back in 1961, said: “This was a big day for us, beating England for the first time, 12-3.

“Wales only narrowly lost to Ireland, we scored a record 23 points this year.”

Only Henry Howell heads Squirrell in Wales Golf’s history books with more Welsh Amateur titles – eight between 1920-32 while only Iestyn Tucker earned more Welsh caps in the Home International appearances with 25 between 1949-79.

Cardiff Golf Club member Squirrell also captained the Welsh Home International side three times – and was the first winner of the Berkhamsted Trophy in 1960.

Wales Golf chief’s praise for Hew

Wales Golf chief executive Richard Dixon said: “It is with great sadness we heard one of our most illustrious former internationals has passed away.

“Hew has a firm place in Welsh golfing history. It is remarkable to be second on the all-time lists both for representing Wales in the Home Internationals and winning the Welsh Amateur Championship.

“Given the changes to the game in the modern era it is extremely unlikely he will be overtaken in either listing.

“Wales struggled against the greater strength in-depth of the other nations in the early days of the Home Internationals.

“But Hew was part of a group of players who came through in the ’50s who made Wales competitive.

“Along with Tucker, George Duncan, Tony Duncan, Tudor Davies and others they turned round Welsh fortunes, including that first victory over England.”

The honorary member of Royal Porthcawl also won the French Amateur title.

Having come up through the ranks as a junior at Cardiff GC, Squirrell gained his first Wales cap in 1955.

After moving to England, he won the Hertfordshire County Championship twice in 1963 and 1973, while a member at Moor Park.

He was also the first-ever winner of the Hampshire Hog, at North Hants GC, which has been won by great amateurs including Sandy Lyle, Gary Wolstenholme, Surrey’s John Davies and Peter McEvoy.

Hew then joined Buckinghamshire’s Denham Golf Club, on the outskirts of London.

As well as winning the Welsh Amateur Championship three years in a row from 1958-60, and back-to-back in 1964 and 1965, Squirrell finished as runner-up twice in 1962 and 1971.

Jack Senior (left) winner of the 2011 Hampshire Hog at North Hants GC with the 1961 winner Hew Squirrel, a member at Denham GC. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

In recent years he returned to North Hants to present the Hampshire Hog trophy to winner Jack Senior in 2011.

That visit marked 50 years since the Welshman became the fifth winner, two years after international team-mate Tony Duncan, who was stationed in North Hampshire as an Army Colonel.

Hew’s son Daniel Squirrell said: “Many Welsh golf clubs hosted Dad on numerous occasions over his golfing career, they have provided Dad and the family many fond memories.”

But the final word goes to legendary golf writer Bernard Darwin who recorded, “Perhaps I may pay my respectful compliments to Hew Squirrell.

“An elegant player he may not be – but he is full of fight and hope and the most difficult man to beat in any company.”

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The 61st Berkhamsted Trophy, which attracted a record entry after it was opened up to female and male golfers, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Picture by ANDY HISEMAN / MAGIC HOUR MEDIA

BERKHAMSTED Golf Club has confirmed the postponement of the 61^st Berkhamsted Trophy because of the coronavirus outbreak.

But the Hertfordshire heatthland club – famous for having no bunkers – plans to stage the ground-breaking event for sexual equality later this year.

The 72-hole tournament was set to be the world’s first national-level elite amateur golf event open to both males and females, from April 2-4.

Following the club’s announcement in January that golfers from both sexes would be able to compete equally, this year’s event had already attracted an all-time record entry.

Among the 142 competitors who have entered the 2020 tournament are 18 leading women golfers – led by last week’s Sunningdale Foursomes winner Lily-May Humphries, from Essex, Cheshire’s England international Isobel Wardle, and Emily Toy, the reigning Women’s Amateur Champion. from Cornwall.

All three are members of the Curtis Cup squad for the biennial match, between Great Britain and Ireland and the USA, which is due to be played at Conwy GC, in North Wales, from June 12-14.

The Hertfordshire club is looking to re-schedule the 61^st Berkhamsted Trophy in the autumn 2020. Further announcements will follow. Entrants need to do nothing at this stage.

The Berkhamsted Trophy. Picture by ANDY HISEMAN

Berkhamsted manager Howard Craft said: “Naturally we would rather not be doing this, but it is clearly unwise to attempt to stage a golf tournament of this kind at the moment.

“The health of our competitors, members and staff is the overwhelming priority right now.

“Our decision in January to invite leading female amateur golfers to enter the tournament has been emphatically validated by the record-breaking entry levels, and also by the high quality of the golfers who want to compete – of both sexes.

“What’s been achieved so far is testament both to the appeal of the Berkhamsted Trophy, and also to the growing desire to stage truly gender-neutral tournaments across the golfing world.

“We are proud to be among those who are leading the way in this area, and we are still excited to see what happens when the best female golfers take on the best male golfers, later this year, all competing for the same trophy.”

Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup captain Elaine Ratcliffe said: “Berkhamsted has clearly taken the right decision to postpone for now, but more importantly, I think it’s brilliant the event received such enthusiastic backing from both male and female competitors.

“It’s another step in the right direction not just for golf, but for sport in general,” said Ratcliffe, the former Ladies European Tour player, who played in the 1996 Curtis Cup at Killarney, and also for GB&I at the 1998 World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Trophy.

“They are all athletes at the end of the day, and we are gradually removing those dividing lines between men’s and women’s sport.”

The 2019 Berkhamsted Trophy was won by Ryan Gosling, from Harpenden GC.

Past winners include Sandy Lyle, Luke Donald, Andy Sullivan, Tom Lewis, Graeme Storm, and Jack Singh-Brar, who have all gone on to play on the European Tour, plus amateur legend Gary Wolstenholme.

•Berkhamsted’s golf course remains open to its members after the Government’s Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance told the Commons Health Committee this week that playing golf was relatively safe during the restrictions on social isolation advised after the COVID-19 outbreak continued to spread across the UK this week.

Berkhamsted Golf Club general manager Howard Craft. Picture by ANDY HISEMAN

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