Walton Heath’s Enrique Dimayuga is tied at the top of the leaderboard with Denmark’s Christoffer Bring in the Brabazon Trophy. Pictures by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

ENRIQUE Dimayuga hopes a “bargain buy” three-iron can help him enjoy some long-awaited success in Friday’s final round of the Brabazon Trophy.

Surrey’s Dimayuga shot to the top of the leaderboard on day three of the English Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Sherwood Forest Golf Club – thanks to a brilliant five-under par round of 66.

Denmark’s Christoffer Bring joined the Walton Heath golfer at the summit. The Dane carded a best-of-the-day round of 65 to match Dimayuga on 11-under.

Yorkshire’s England squad member Sam Bairstow is just one shot further back on 10-under after shooting 67 for a second consecutive day.

France’s David Ravetto and halfway leader Jack Dyer, from Boyce Hill, are still very much in the hunt on nine-under par after 54 holes.

In total, there are 14 players within six shots of the lead teeing up what could be a dramatic final day in the fight to win one of amateur golf’s most prestigious trophies.

However, the bubbly Dimayuga will be the man to beat in the final round if a used club he bought for £50 from his local pro shop continues to behave.

“The shaft on the iron is really whippy so I just keep hitting these long looping draws,” said Dimayuga with a smile after confessing his poor form with the driver has resulted in him using it only once this week.

“The head on my regular three-iron snapped recently. So I went with this one,” said Dimayuga, who was an England junior international until joining the men’s ranks this year.

“But it’s working well. I felt like I’m having fun. I’m not even thinking about what I’m doing.

Iron play key for ex-England junior

Dimuyaga was happy with his play at the Nottinghamshire course.

“My iron play has been really solid and my swing is good,” he said. “And I’m dialled in in terms of yardages and judging the wind.

“I haven’t won anything in a long time and my form over the last calendar year has been pretty good.

“I’m just waiting for an opportunity to be in that final group and be in a position to take the win and I feel like it’s coming, hopefully, tomorrow.

“I can’t guarantee anything and I wouldn’t bet on myself just yet.”

When reminded that Tiger Woods won an Open Championship at Royal Liverpool 14 years ago hitting an iron off every tee, Dimayuga said with a smile: “I won’t go as far as saying I’m Tiger Woods – I’d hope I can play to some of that form.”

Bring’s day included an eagle at the fifth hole and a birdie on the 14^th after he holed from a greenside bunker.

“I feel confident and will go out and see what happens,” admitted the golfer from Naestved, 70 miles south of Copenhagen.

Bring added: “I got off to a slow start and then I made an eagle on the fifth and that kind of got me into the round.

“I made a lot of putts from the fifth through to the 12^th and holed a bunker shot on 14 – so that was great.”

Essex’s Jack Dyer is still in touch with the leaders at the English Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Sherwood Forest, trailing Dimayuga by two shots

Moving day for Carris winner Brown

IT was a classic “moving day” at the Brabazon, with the entire field of 68 players harbouring hopes of going low.

Many of them did – no fewer than 27 golfers shot rounds under-par.

Yorkshire’s Barclay Brown certainly made a move – a round of 66 taking him to seven-under for the championship and into a tie for sixth.

Yet Hallamshire GC’s former England junior international will look back on his third round with a mixture of quiet satisfaction and total disbelief.

The Stanford University student was disarmingly honest about a day that saw him eagle the fifth with a putt that was charging 10 feet past.

A fluke hole-in-one on the 131-yard seventh hole best summed up the 2018 Carris Trophy winner’s day.

Brown laughed: “I’d like to say it was a great shot but I knifed it.

“It’s my sixth hole in one, but not the prettiest. I wasn’t playing my best and had to grind it out.”

Only nine players have ever won the Carris and Brabazon Trophy – including Rotherham’s Ben Schmidt.

Twelve months ago, the England international became just the fourth to complete the double in the same year.

The winner of the 2020 New South Wales Amateur also became the youngest player to win the Brabazon, at Alwoodley, in 2019.

The 16-year-old broke Sandy Lyle’s record set in 1975 in the process.

Cope climbs leaderboard after making cut on the mark

ANOTHER player emerging from the pack to give himself a slim hope of victory is newly-crowned English Amateur champion Jack Cope.

The Gloucestershire ace made the cut right on the number thanks to a birdie on the 36^th hole. He then shot a third round of 66.

When asked to compare his last two rounds, Players Club member Cope said: “Black and white – not just golf, but in terms of attitude as well.

“I’m very pleased to shoot 65 and get up the leaderboard.”

•For live scoring in the final round of the Brabazon Trophy click here.

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A large number of England Golf Championships in June and July have been postponed because of the coronvirus pandemic – a total of 27 events are now off

ENGLAND Golf have postponed another 14 events – including the Carris and McGregor trophies – in the summer’s amateur calendar in June and July amid the continuing coronavirus crisis.

All major championships organised by the game’s governing body in England have now been put off up until July 27.

That includes two of the three of England’s junior championships – with July’s McGregor Trophy (U16s strokeplay) and the Carris (U18s strokeplay) – both off, at least temporarily.

Another casualty is the English Mid-Amateur Championship for the over 35s, with the Logan Trophy due to have been played at Yorkshire’s Sand Moor, from July 3-5.

England Golf had already cancelled some 14 events from April until the end of the first week in June after the championship committee took the decision on March 18 – before the Government lockdown was introduced five days later forcing some 3,000 golf clubs to close in the UK and Ireland.

Organisers based at England Golf’s headquarters at Woodhall Spa, in Lincolnshire, are still hoping that some of the events can be rescheduled although junior events like the Carris and McGregor – and the England Girls Open Championship – due to be played at Hertfordshire’s Sandy Lodge GC, from July 21-23 – can only be played during the school holidays.

The Carris was due to be played at Weybridge’s St George’s Hill, in Surrey, from July 21-24, while the McGregor was heading to the North East at Heworth GC, in Gateshead, a week earlier.

England Golf’s director of championships James Crampton said: “It is with regret that we have had to extend the list of postponed England Golf events as we all adhere to the expert advice and necessary measures now in place to combat the spread of coronavirus.

“All England Golf championships have now been postponed until week commencing July 27.

“We will continue to regularly review our championship plans beyond this date.

“If possible, we aim to re-schedule some of our postponed events and will provide information as and when it is practicable to do so.

“There are a number of intricacies associated with championship golf which need to be considered well in advance of any event taking place.

“And these, as much as golf courses being open for play, are key factors in our decision-making.”

An England Golf spokesman said: “As always, England Golf’s priority when taking decisions at this time is to assist the national effort to combat the threat of the COVID-19 outbreak and ensure we protect our NHS and save lives.

“With golf courses now closed until further notice and restrictions for travel and public life in place for an indefinite period, England Golf have taken the pragmatic decision on the postponement of events beyond our original date of June 7.

The 14 events in April, May and early June which were postponed included the Brabazon Trophy at Sherwood Forest GC (May 21-24) and the two qualifiers for the English Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Hessle and East Sussex on May 12.

The English Women’s Amateur at Sheringham GC, in Norfolk (May 27-31) and the Senior Women’s Amateur at  Peterborough Milton GC (May 11-15) were among the earlier events called off.

The English Seniors Championship at Lincolnshire’s Burghley Park and Luffenham Heath, in Rutland (June 3-5) is also off along with the English Open Amateur for golfers with a disability at Whittlebury Park, in Northamptonshire, from June 27-28.

The English Schools’ Team Championship – which was to be held again at Woodhall Spa – is another event that will require a new slot, but could be played later in the season.

The latest England Golf championships to be postponed are:–

• English Senior Women’s Strokeplay – Abbeydale, June 16-18
• England Golf Medal – The Kendleshire – June 17
• Golf Captains – Broadway, June 17
• England Golf Medal – Drayton Park, June 21
• England Golf Medal – Brancepeth Castle, June 25
• English Open Disabled Amateur – Whittlebury Park, June 27-28
• Golf Captains – Moortown, June 30
• Logan Trophy – Sand Moor, July 3-5
• Senior Series and Golf Captains – South Staffs, July 7-8
• English Schools’ Team Championship – Woodhall Spa, July 8
• McGregor Trophy – Heworth, July 14-16
• English Girls’ Open Championship – Sandy Lodge, July 21-23
• Carris Trophy – St George’s Hill, July 21-24
• Golf Captains – Piltdown, July 22

Any player already registered for a postponed England Golf event will be contacted directly by the championship department.

In addition to championships, all England Golf regional and national squad coaching sessions for men, women, boys and girls remain cancelled until further notice.

Individual coaching sessions – apart from those done remotely by video call – have also been cancelled.

The England Golf spokesman added: “Events relating to championships and performance squads remain under constant review and timely updates will be issued via our website and social media platforms.”

•You can follow England Golf on Twitter and Instagram

The stunninge St George’s Hill at Weybridge is due to host the Carris Trophy in 2020 but the July date has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic

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Charl Schwartzel won the Brabazon Trophy at Royal Cinque Ports in 2002 – the 2020 English Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Sherwood Forest in late May has been cancelled Picture by ANDREW GRIFIFN / AMG PICTURES

ENGLAND Golf have postponed all championships and coaching scheduled to take place up until early June as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

They include the Brabazon Trophy at Sherwood Forest and the first international match of the season between England and France at Ganton, which hosted the Walker Cup in 2003.

All England coaching for their men’s, women’s and junior squads – both at national and regional level – have also been cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Top women’s events to be postponed include the English Senior Women’s Amateur at Peterborough Milton and the English Women’s Amateur at Sheringham, in Norfolk – both in May.

England men’s Seniors Championship which was due to be played at Luffenham Heath and Burghley Park, in Lincolnshire, in early June, has also been called off.

The following England Golf and co-sanctioned events are affected:–

• Golf Sixes – Centurion Club, St Albans, Hertfordshire 30-31 March 30-21
• Senior Series and Golf Captains – St Mellion, Cornwall, April 29-30
• Senior Series and Golf Captains – Hesketh, Lancashire, May 6-7
• Brabazon Trophy South Qualifier – East Sussex National, May 12
• Brabazon Trophy North Qualifier – Hessle, Yorkshire, May 12
• England v France – Ganton, Yorkshire 9-10 May 9-10
• English Senior Women’s Amateur – Peterborough Milton, May 11-15
• England Golf Medal (South) – Knole Park, Kent, May 17
• Golf Captains – Northants County, May 20
• Brabazon Trophy – Sherwood Forest, Notts, May 21-24
• English Women’s Amateur – Sheringham, Norfolk, May 27-31
• England Golf Medal (Midlands North) – Stanton-on-the-Wolds, Gloucestershire, May 28
• English Seniors Amateur Championship – Luffenham Heath, Rutland, & Burghley Park, Lincolnshire, June 3-5
• Senior Series and Golf Captains – Stowmarket, Suffolk, June 3-4
• England Golf Medal (East) – Colne Valley, Essex, June 7.

England Golf’s director of championships James Crampton said: “It is with regret that all England Golf events have been postponed until Sunday, June 7.

“Further information about potentially rescheduling some of these events for later in the year will be provided in due course.

“England Golf also recommends the postponement of all county and regional competitions during this time.

“While England Golf are encouraging golfers to continue playing the game, the intricacies associated with championship golf such as players travelling to events, staying in hotels and the additional personnel associated with the management of the events makes it impossible to ensure the safety and welfare of all concerned.”

All current entrants into England Golf events during this period of postponement will be contacted directly by the championship department with further information.

The decision has also been made to cancel all England Golf regional and national squad coaching sessions for men, women, boys and girls until further notice.

Individual coaching sessions can continue provided they comply with the stringent government and expert advice on social distancing, an England Golf spokesman said.

Events relating to championships and performance squads remain under constant review and timely updates will be issued via England Golf’s website and social media platforms, he added.

England Golf will continue to communicate any changes through our website, social platforms and via direct correspondence to their affiliated counties, clubs and golfers.

It is vital that everyone continues to follow best practice when it comes to dealing with the current outbreak of coronavirus.

•Last year’s Brabazon Trophy was won by 16-year-old Ben Schmidt, from Rotherham GC, who broke Sandy Lyle’s record set as a 17-year-old in 1975 – and 70 years after Hampshire’s Sir Paddy Hine became the first teenager to win the English Open Amateur Strokeplay, at Southampton’s Stoneham GC, when he was just 17.

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Sussex’s Gary Evans is the first round leader at the MCG Tour Championship – Madagascar after a fine round of 68 left him with a one-shot lead on three-under par at International Golf Club Du Rova. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

SUSSEX’S Gary Evans carded an opening round of 68 at the MCB Tour Championship – Madagascar to lead by one shot as the Staysure Tour held a tournament on the Indian Ocean island for the first time in its 27-year history.

Evans rose to the top after his three-under par round saw him finish the day one shot ahead Spain’s José Manuel Carriles, Stephen Dodd, from Wales, Madagascan Jean Baptiste Ramarozatovo and France’s Jean Pierre Sallat.

Evans, who has recorded three top 10s in his rookie season on the Staysure Tour, made a quick start with a birdie on the first hole.

And the player, often regarded as the best Englishman never to have won on the European Tour, bounced back from his bogey on the second with three consecutive gains, including two on par threes, ahead of the turn.

A dropped shot on the 10th was quickly recovered on the par three 11th before he made back-to-back birdies on the par four 15th and par three 16th.

Even with a double bogey on his penultimate hole following a difficult lie in the bunker, Evans was more than happy to sign for a round of 68 and take the lead after round one.

“If you had offered me that score at the beginning of the day, I would have snapped your hand off,” said Evans, who represented Ascot’s Mill Ryde GC for many years as a European Tour player.

“I’m very happy with that and can’t complain at all,” added Evans, who shared the Brabazon Trophy – at the English Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship – back-to-back in 1990 and 1991.

“It is an extremely difficult golf course and it is hard to be aggressive, but I actually played really nicely, especially on the par threes.

“I hit a lot of good shots into the par threes which made life a lot easier. I played the rest of the course quite nicely, but I played those holes really well,” said Evans, who grew up playing as a junior at Worthing GC.

“I could’ve birdied all five of the par threes. On the fourth hole I hit a seven-iron into five feet – and missed the putt. All of my approaches were close and none of them were long putts.

“I drove the ball well and made a couple of small mistakes. It was a shame on 17 because I hit a perfect drive and then hit my wedge on-line with the flag.

“It landed on the front edge of the green and span back, as opposed to going forward, landing in a really bad lie in the bunker.

“You are going to have holes that will bite you because it’s the nature of the golf course. It’s all about patience and a clear mind and executing your game as best as you can.”

Hot on Evans’ heels are a group of four players at two-under, including local professional Ramarozatovo, who became the first Madagascan player to tee it up in a Staysure Tour event.

The island star held the lead during the opening round following three birdies and an eagle, but a double bogey on the 17^th saw him drop back to a share of second place.

Madagascar became the 46th country to host a Staysure Tour tournament since its inception in 1992 as the first stage of the three-legged MCB Tour Championships got under way at International Golf Club Du Rova.

The second round of the MCB Tour Championship – Madagascar gets under way at 8am local time with Evans teeing off at 10:45am.

•For lives scoring in Madagascar click here.

Evans was tipped as the ‘next Faldo’

GARY Evans was tipped by many as the new Faldo when he burst on the amateur scene a decade after the Hertfordshire player became youngest-ever English Amateur Champion at 17, in 1975.

Evans won the Carris Trophy – the English U18 Strokeplay Championship in 1986 – and played in the 1991 Walker Cup for Great Britain and Ireland against the USA, at Portmarnock, with the American team containing Phil Mickelson.

Evans beat David Duval in the Saturday singles, and partnered Andrew Coltart and Jim Payne in the foursomes in a GB&I team that also contained Ireland’s future Ryder Cup players Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley.

Evans spent several years coaching after quitting the European Tour back in 2006 after shoulder and back injuries, which came on top of a persistent wrist injury.

He appeared in a total of 353 tournaments between 1992 and 2006 earning nearly €3.4million finishing in the top three five times.

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AS Royal Liverpool prepares to host the 47th Walker Cup  between Great Britain and Ireland and the USA – as part of its celebration of 150 years of golf at Hoylake – ANDREW GRIFFIN spoke to the last Hampshire player to win a major domestic honour at the Merseyside course, where Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory claimed the Open Championship in 2006 and 2014 respectively.

Rowlands Castle’s Darren Wright who thinks the Americans may try and attack the Hoylake links in this weekend’s Walker Cup clash with Great Britain and Ireland.
Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

DARREN Wright will always rate Hoylake as one one of his favourite courses.

It is after all where the former England international won the Brabazon Trophy in 2010 – beating Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and a very young John Rahm in the process.

The Rowlands Castle player became just the ninth player to complete the double by winning the Carris at the English Boys’ Amateur Championship, to go with the English Men’s Amateur Strokeplay title he won at Royal Liverpool.

A year later, Wright was in the provisional Walker Cup squad but missed out having not been selected for England’s European Amateur Team Championships side two months before GB&I beat the USA at Royal Aberdeen with a team containing Andy Sullivan and Callum Shinkwin.

While Wright won at Burhill on the EuroPro Tour in 2015 on his way to earning a European Challenge Tour card after graduating via the PGA feeder tour, he never quite bridged the gap from the amateur game, and finally gave up professional golf at the start of 2017.

And although strokeplay is not the order of the day when the USA arrive on Merseyside this month, Wright is sure the course that he conquered so brilliantly nine years ago will present a unique challenge in the matchplay format with four foursomes and eight singles on the first day, and fours foursomes and 10 singles on Sunday.

Darren said: “It’s a challenge course with plenty of cross-winds as well as holes where it will help but also increase how long it plays.

Rowlands Castle’s Darren Wright won the Brabazon Trophy at the English Amateur Strokeplay four years after he won the Carris at the English Boys’ Amateur Championship.

“In 2010, it was very warm and the course was playing hard and fast, conditions like it was when Tiger won the Open in 2006 and used his two-iron so well – but left himself with a lot longer approaches into the greens.

“The Walker Cup teams might not experience similar conditions but Hoylake is a great track that will be perfect for the event all the top amateurs in the UK dream of playing in.

“Even since I won the Brab, technology has made great strides to help players hit it longer and more consistently.

“But there were holes in 2010 where the bunkers were perfectly placed to make you stand there on the tee and think about whether you wanted to take them on, or lay up short and leave yourself with a longer second shot.

“The drives on the first and the 16th by the practice ground are really dangerous if you are not hitting it straight with out of bounds in your face.

“So the start and closing stretch is very tough. But there is also a stretch around the turn where – especially if you get some help from the wind – you can attack the greens and get an eagle putt, which at worst will mean a birdie on the par five eighth.

“I played with Tyrrell Hatton for a couple of the rounds and was one in front of him after the third round.

“When I woke up on the last day I felt super confident. I just knew it was going to be my day.

“I raced to four or five-under by the turn and someone got word to me that I was eight shots clear at one point.

“But then the back nine got the better of me and I gave those shots back. Luckily, I knew my playing partners were behind me, and I got to 18 with a four-shot lead.

“Even though I was very nervous, I just concentrated on hitting the fairway and had a 35-foot for birdie, so I just rolled it up to the hole to a couple of feet.

“It’s a round – or a week – I am never going to forget. Tommy Fleetwood was the favourite and got off to a good start.

“Everyone said he was going to win but he had a nightmare second round while I shot four-under, and then added a couple of level-pars.

“But there is plenty of danger and it will be interesting to see how the Americans approach Hoylake.

“If they try what the USA did in the Ryder Cup at Le Paris National and just try and out-drive us, the course can catch them out as it did in France.

“I think it will come down to which team plays smartest. The par three holes are tough even if not that long.

“The 13th by the sea with a big bank has bunkers all around the green is only 161 yards.

“With any wind, which can affect your club selection or catch you out just as you hit the shot, if you get sucked into going for the pins and find yourself in the traps, you can fritter away a few holes.

“Middle of the green is going to be a good tactic, especially if you hit first and can put your opponents under pressure.”

While Darren, who now has his own property maintenance company, has come to terms with how his professional career panned out, it is clear that missing out on a Walker Cup is probably his biggest disappointment.

He loved representing England over two summers, having also been a junior international alongside Hampshire team-mate Sam Hutsby.

But his most recent discovery has boosted his Brabazon feelgood factor even more, nearly a decade on.

Darren said: “I only just realised that John Rahm was playing that year… he must have been a very young teenager.

“He finished 61st, Tommy Fleetwood was 21st and I beat Tyrrell who was sixth – all three played in the last Ryder Cup. Spain’s Adrian Otaegui was fifth and he has won twice on Tour too.”

That hopefully will be one to tell the children and grandchildren about one day…

•For live scoring from the first day’s play of the Walker Cup at Hoylake, click here.

The post Darren’s Wright way to go about tackling Hoylake and USA in the 43rd Walker Cup appeared first on Golf North.

The Brabazon Trophy at Alwoodley Golf Club which hosts the English Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship starting today, Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

AN international field has assembled for the Brabazon Trophy, one of the most prestigious championships in the world of men’s amateur golf, which starts today at Leeds’ Alwoodley Golf Club.

Players from more than a dozen countries will bid to become the English Men’s Open Amateur Strokeplay Champion with four rounds being played before Sunday’s climax.

They include South African Amateur Champion Wilco Nienaber – ranked 40th in the world – who was pipped to the Brabazon title in a play-off last year by Nick Poppleton.

Although the Yorkshireman has turned professional, there’s a very strong contingent determined to keep the trophy in the host county.

The 17 Yorkshire players in the field include the England internationals Lindrick’s Bailey Gill, fellow England internationals David Hague, from Malton & Norton, and Howley Hall’s Ben Hutchinson, together with Rotherham’s England Junior international Ben Schmidt.

Among the others are county champion Sam Rook, who is a member Lindrick, and county matchplay champion Max Berrisford, from Skipton. Alwoodley itself fields one player – Tom Irwin.

The English challenge from further afield includes Wallasey’s Josh McMahon – recent winner of the Lytham Trophy – Sussex’s English Amateur Champion Thomas Thurloway, from Chartham Park, Somerset’s European Nations Cup champion Tom Sloman, from Taunton & Pickeridge, and county team-mate Tom Plumb, from Yeovil, the winner of the Cape Province Open, in South Africa.

It is a Walker Cup year and many members of the initial squad are in the field and keen to make an impression on the selectors.

There’s nine Englishmen: Gill, Hague, Plumb, Sloman, and Thurloway together with Saunton’s Jake Burnage, West Cornwall’s Harry Hall, Ben Jones, from Northamptonshire County, and England junior cap Robin Williams, from Peterborough Milton, who has already played on the European Tour.

Hampshire who have won the Brabazon Trophy three times since 2010 will be strongly represented by a trio of Rowlands Castle members including 2010 winner Darren Wright, last year’s Spanish Amateur Champion Billly McKenzie, and club assistant secretary Tom Robson, who finished in the top 10 at Frilford.

It is also the 70th anniversary since Hampshire’s Paddy Hine completed a remarkable treble at the age of just 17.

Hine won the Brabazon, the Carris Trophy at the English Boys Open Amateur Strokeplay, and the Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Championship in the space of three months in an era when boys could not regularly outwit their stronger elders – as they can today.

From the other home countries, Ireland’s Conor Purcell, who is ranked 21st in the world, Caolan Rafferty, John Murphy and James Sugrue, will carry the Emerald Isle’s hopes.

Scottish champion Euan McIntosh, African Amateur Champion Euan Walker, Kieran Cantley and Jamie Stewart, will fly the flag for Scotland, while Welsh hopes will rest with Jake Hapgood and Ben Chamberlain.

Another 60 players came through England Golf’s two qualifiers at Hindhead and Lindrick.

Charl Schwartzel won the Brabazon Trophy at Royal Cinque Ports in 2002. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

•Past winners of the Brabazon include Sandy Lyle, the youngest-ever winner at 17, Peter Baker, Ronan Rafferty, Gordon Brand Jnr, and Paul Way – who all went on to play in the Ryder Cup.

In 2002, South African Charl Schwartzel also won the title in Kent, as a 17-year-old at Deal’s Royal Cinque Ports, before turning pro in 2003 and winning on the European Tour at the end of 2004.

Alwoodley: First MacKenzie design

ALWOODLEY will set them all a fine test of golf. The Yorkshire heathland set up is regarded as one of the country’s finest inland courses.

It was the first designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie, who went on to create Augusta National, Australia’s Royal Melbourne – the venue for December’s Presidents Cup – and California’s Cypress Point.

The club is hosting the Brabazon Trophy for the first time and will be broadcasting live coverage of today’s first day’s play on its YouTube channel and via social media.

Alwoodley hosted the English Amateur in 2003 when Gary Lockerbie was crowned champion, and in 2016 when Lindrick’s Joe Dean claimed the title.

Kettering’s Charley Hull won the English Ladies Amateur Championship at Alwoodley in 2011 – the third time the heathland course on Wigton Moor, to the north of Leeds, has held the event.

•For more information on the Brabazon, including tee times, click here.

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