Yorkshire’s Benjamin Schmidt knocked out Brandon Dietzel winning 3&2 in the second round of the 2020 Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale. Picture by THE R&A

YORKSHIRE’S Benjamin Schmidt comfortably advanced in his quest to win The 125th Amateur Championship.

Taking on Germany’s Brandon Dietzel, Schmidt – the highest ranked player in the field at No. 35 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking – recorded a 3&2 victory across the famed Royal Birkdale links.

The 18-year-old, from Rotherham GC, will meet Royal Lytham’s fellow England junior international Callan Barrow in Friday’s third round.

The Lancastrian, who finished runner-up in the English Amateur Championship, defeated Scotland’s Lewis Irvine 2&1.

Schmidt created history last summer by winning the Carris and Brabazon in the same season at the age of just 16, breaking Sandy Lyle’s record from 1975 in the process.

He said: “I feel like the first match is pretty tough. Everyone is wanting to just get through that first stage, so I am very happy.

“I played pretty solid. I had a couple of holes in the middle of the match where I probably went a little flat. But I finished with two birdies which was very nice.

“If you are bad off the tee around here it’s going to be pretty tough. But off the tee I have been pretty good.

“I also hit some good shots into the greens to give myself birdie chances,” said Schmidt, who also won the New South Wales Amateur in February.

There will be disappointment for another Scot Ruben Lindsay, the leading qualifier.

The 16-year-old was knocked out after losing 2&1 to Finland’s Ilari Saulo, who had disposed of Hallamshire’s in-form Sam Bairstow in the morning first round by 3&1.

The Finnish Amateur Champion will now go head-to-head with Denmark’s Victor Sidal Svendsen, who won by 1 hole to end the hopes of Welshman Ben Chamberlain.

Somerset’s Tom Plumb beat Robert Moran 4&3 to move int the last 32 at The British Amtaeur at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

Plumb happy to be in the last-32

SOMERSET’S Thomas Plumb, a member of the 2019 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team, moved into the last-32 thanks to a 4&3 victory over Ireland’s Robert Moran.

Plumb got off to a fast start and was six-up through the turn, but found the going much tougher on Birkdale’s challenging back nine.

“I started really well and was six-up through the turn,” said Plumb.

“I started to stick the brakes on a little bit and got a little bit lazy and lackadaisical. But I was happy to get the job done in the end.

“The back nine is just so difficult once you get past 12. You start going back out towards the sea.

“It’s hard to gauge the wind and the course gets longer. It’s obviously late in the round as well so it definitely plays so much harder than the front nine.

“I’m playing some good golf and I’m confident with how I played in the strokeplay in the bad weather on the first day – and then yesterday,” added Plumb, who qualified in a share of 30th place.

Qualifying was reduced to just one round on Wednesday, after Tuesday’s first round was abandoned because of high winds.

“I just want to stay confident each day and play each match as well as I have today and I should do okay.”

The England international will now face team-mate Callum Farr, from Northamptonshire County, in the third round.

Farr, who reached the semi-finals of the English Amateur in 2018 and 2019, beat Italian Davide Buchi by one hole.

France’s Brabazon Trophy winner David Ravetto has a chance to match the unique feat of Sir Michael Bonallack, who completed the English Strokeplay and Amateur double twice.
Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Ravetto can match Bonallack’s unique feat

HAVING qualified for the matchplay stage by a single stroke, Frenchman David Ravetto, went head-to-head with Gloucestershire’s English Amateur champion Jack Cope, from The Players Club.

Opening with a birdie, Ravetto – who won the Brabazon Trophy last week – went one-up after the first before comfortably winning the match 5&4.

He will now play Marc Hammer on Friday after the German beat Finland’s Rasmus Karlsson 2&1.

Ravetto said: “It was a tough day yesterday because I knew it was just one round of qualifying.

“I didn’t play a great round. I was maybe a little scared that I would mess it up. But I had plenty of confidence in my game this morning.

“I played pretty solid golf, nothing too crazy, added Ravetto, who has a chance to equal the achievement of Sir Michael Bonallack by becoming just the second player to win the Brabazon and The Amateur Championship in the same season.

Ravetto reflected: “I birdied the first hole to go one-up. I birdied six as well and managed a chip in bogey on seven and birdied 10. I shot two-under through 14 holes – so a solid round of golf.

“Jack played a really good round. He is a really good player. We had a great match. He didn’t make many putts and that was the difference between us.”

Power inspired by Harrington’s heroics in 2008 Open

DRAWING inspiration from Padraig Harrington – who won the 2008 Open at Royal Birkdale – Ireland’s Mark Power won his match against Jannik de Bruyn of Germany thanks to a 2&1 victory.

He advanced to play England’s Jack Dyer in the last-32.

Power said: “At the start of the week we were all watching that video of Harrington hitting that five-wood on 17.

“I was standing on the 17th tee two-up. It was a big moment, as I was considering if I should take it on or not.

“It’s just cool to be playing these type of golf courses that all the greats have played on.

“It’s a magnificent golf course, the back nine is so tough, pars are great scores out there.

“I have played Jannik before and I knew how good he was and that it would be a tough game.

“We both probably didn’t have our best stuff today. But it was a good battle. To know that even when I’m not playing my best, I can win gives me a lot of confidence.”

The famous Art Deco clubhouse at Royal Birkdale – one of the best courses on the R&A’s Open Championship rota – and where Jordan Spieth claimed the Claret Jug in 2017

Birkdale hosting The Amateur for fourth time in 74 years

ROYAL Birkdale is staging The Amateur Championship for just the fourth time in 74 years, having hosted it in 1946, 1989 and 2005.

The matchplay stage continues on Friday with the last-16 and last-eight ties before the quarter and semi-finals on Saturday.

Also through to the third round are Wiltshire’s Scottish Strokeplay Amateur Champion Jake Bolton, Tillman Trophy winner Matty Lamb, from Hexham, former Carris Trophy winner Barclay Brown, from Hallamshire, and Gloucestershire’s England international Joe Long.

They are in the draw alongside Northampton County’s Ben Jones, a semi-finalist last year, who also reached the last four in this year’s Australian Amateur.

Dubai-based England junior Josh Hill, the youngest amateur to win a professional event on the Mena Tour in 2019, will face Long.

Canterbury’s Joshua Bristow and Dartford’s Mason Essam, who helped Kent win the English County Championship last September, while Essex’s Jack Dyer, and Aaron Edwards-Hill – last year’s North of Ireland Open winner, are also bidding for a place in the last-16.

A total of 17 English players have made it through to the third round with Castle Park’s Stephen Gallacher Foundation Ambassador Connor Wilson – and Peebles Darren Howie – the only Scots left in the competition.

The winner of Sunday’s 36-hole final will gain exemptions into the 149th Open at Royal St George’s next July, and by tradition, an invitation to play in the Masters at Augusta National – as well as an exemption to the 2021 US Open.

•For live scoring, go to www.randa.org as well as on The R&A’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

The post Ben Schmidt on the trail of The Amateur crown and place in Masters and Open appeared first on Golf North.

Last year’s Reid Trophy winner French teenager Joseph Linel – the 2020 English U14s Championship has been cancelled. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

THE Reid and McGregor Trophy will not take place in 2020 – because of the continuing COVID-19 crisis, England Golf has announced.

England Golf believes the English U14 and U16 championships – due to be held in the last week of July and early August – pose to many obstacles to overcome for them to go ahead.

The England Girls U16 and U14 Championships – which were due to be held at Brentwood’s Thorndon Park Golf Club, in Esssex – have also been called off.

An England Golf spokesman said: “The safety and wellbeing of our junior competitors and their accompanying parents/guardians remains of paramount importance.

“While we are confident the golf element of a championship can be managed successfully, there are additional practical difficulties associated with running junior events.

“With parents and guardians necessarily joining competitors, staff and volunteers on site within the confines of a smaller club environment, it becomes more difficult to adhere to social distancing regulations.”

A spokesman said: “England Golf is most appreciative of the understanding and acceptance shown by the host clubs in making this tough decision.

“We look forward to working with them again in the future.”

England Golf is confident the Men’s and Women’s national championship can still go ahead at its national headquarters at Woodhall Spa, in Lincolnshire, at the end of July.

The spokesman added: “It should be noted that due to the size and layout of the Woodhall Spa facility at the home of England Golf, the English Men’s and English Women’s Amateur Championships – scheduled to be played from July 28-August 2 – remain in the diary.

“England Golf is confident it can celebrate the best of English amateur golf at this joint event.”

French teenager Joseph Linel – the 2019 winner – will have to wait a year longer to stand a chance of joining the elite group to have won the Reid and McGregor Trophy.

Justin Rose won the McGregor and Carris trophies in 1995

Carris and other events ‘unaffected’ at the moment says England Golf

ALL other England Golf championships remain provisionally scheduled as before – but are subject to regular review in accordance with updated government advice and regulations, England Golf has confirmed.

The biggest junior event is the Carris Trophy, which was moved to the end of August, from the third week in July, becasue of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The venue was switched from St George’s Hill, at Weybridge, in Surrey, to Broadstone, in Dorset, back in April.

The English Seniors Men’s and Women Amateur Championships have also been rescheduled to the middle of August.

The McGregor has been won by the likes of Justin Rose, back in 1995, and Edoardo Molinari, a year later.

The Italian denied a back-to-back victory for the North Hants GC teenager – a feat only achieved by Lincolnshire’s Jim Payne, in 1987.

It was one of three national victories in one stunning season for Rose, who only turned 15 after he had completed the double by adding the Carris Trophy at the English Boys Amateur Championship, at Burnham & Berrow.

The winners from 1995 and 1996 at Radcliffe-on-Trent GC. The Nottinghamshire’ club ran the comptetion before it became the English U16 Championship in 1982 – both went on to play in the Ryder Cup for Europe.

Graeme Storm, the winner in 1994, played in the 1999 Walker Cup and won twice on the European Tour.

Essex’s Oliver Fisher, the McGregor winner in 2004, broke Rose’s record as the youngest ever player in the Walker Cup in 2005, at just 16.

•The 2020 McGregor Trophy was due to be played at Gateshead’s Heworth GC (July 28-30). It is still played at its spiritual home at Ratcliffe-on-Trent every five years.

Conor Gough – one of just three winners of both the Reid and McGregor Trophy. Picture by Leaderboard Photography

Gough one of three to win men’s and U16s

ONLY three McGregor champions have gone on to win the English Amateur – James Heath (1999 and 2004), Paul Waring (2001 and 2006) and Stoke Park’s Conor Gough (2018 and 2019).

Just two years ago, Gough won the McGregor before adding the British Boys title at the age of 15.

He also became the second-youngest English Amateur Champion by beating Northamptonshire County’s Callum Farr, in the final at Surrey’s Hankley Common last summer.

The Walker Cup player was four days older than when Harry Ellis broke Sir Nick Faldo’s 1975 record in the 2012 English Amateur final.

Only three juniors have won the Reid and McGregor Trophy.

And unsurprisingly Gough became the latest player to have achieved the feat in 2018 after winning the Reid in 2016.

Worthing’s Oscar Sharpe became the first in 2006, followed by his Sussex clubmate Toby Tree, when he won the McGregor in 2010 – two years after claiming the U14s title.

Eddie Pepperell won the Reid in 2005 at Bristol & Clifton and is the only winner so far, to have earned a European Tour card.

Kent’s Jonathan Bell ended up on the bag when Tyrrell Hatton claimed two European Tour wins back-to-back in 2017.

The Reid Trophy was created back in 1995, with Porters Park in Hertfordshire staging what became the English U14 Championship for the first five years.

The English U14s was due to be played at Prestbury Golf Club, in Cheshire, for the first time, from August 4-6.

Quartet of Carris winners played Ryder Cup

NOTABLE Carris Trophy winners include Sandy Lyle (1975), Peter Baker (1983), David Gilford (1981) plus Hertfordshire’s Ken Brown (1974) and Peter Townsend (1965) – who all went on to play in the Ryder Cup.

Ken Brown – Picture: WOJCIECH MIGDA

Another Hertfordshire junior destined for the European Tour was Welwyn Garden City’s Tom Lewis, who won the Carris just along the M25 at Moor Park – the event’s spriritual home since it was first played in 1935.

Lewis went on to beat Frilford Heath’s Eddie Pepperell in the British Boys final at Royal St George the following month.

He became just the third player to win the UK’s top two junior events in the same season, matching Townsend, who won the British title for a second time in 1964, the year he claimed the Carris.

Nine Carris winners have gone on to add the English Amateur Championship to their silverware collection.

The first was Ronnie White, who added the men’s title 12 years after he became the third-ever winner of the Carris at Moor Park, in Hertfordshire.

The other double winners are (Carris Trophy first): –
John Langley (1936 and 1950)
Ian Caldwell (1947/8 and 1961)
David Gilford (1981 and 1984)
Ian Garbutt (1989 and 1990)
Mark Foster (1992 and 1994)
Scott Godfrey (1998 and 2001)
Gary Lockerbie (2000 and 2003)
Callum Shinkwin (2010 and 2013)

Lyle rewrote the record books for the Brabazon Trophy – the English Men’s Amateur Strokeplay – by winning it as a 17-year-old in 1975.

The future Masters winner broke the record set in October 1949 by Hampshire’s Paddy Hine, who had won the Carris Trophy at Moor Park earlier that summer, also aged 17.

Ben Schmidt the youngest to complete the Carris and Brabazon Trophy double at just 16. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Schmidt became youngest winner of Carris and Brabazon

YORKSHIRE’S Ben Schmidt smashed Sandy Lyle’s record by claiming the Carris at the age of just 16 last summer.

His win came just six weeks after claiming the Brabazon at Alwoodley, in Leeds.

The Reid and McGregor Trophy may not bear Schmidt’s name. But he became just the ninth player – and just the second in the 21st Century – to claim the Carris and Brabazon double.

Hampshire’s Darren Wright was the first. Rowlands Castle’s England international added the Men’s title at Hoylake in 2010 – four years after his Boys’ victory at Sherwood Forest.

Lyle became just the second player to land that double in the same season after Hine. Peter Baker became the third 10 years later,

Sussex’s Gary Evans – who won the Carris in 1986 – shared the Brabazon Trophy two years in a row in 1990 and 1991 – before earning his card on the European Tour.

Nottinghamshire’s Mark Foster was the only player to complete the double in the 1990s.

Kent’s Paul Page became the first Carris winner away from Moor Park, in 1988, at Durham’s Brancepth Castle.

That was the year the English Golf Union adopted the tournament as its official England U18 Boys Open Strokeplay Championship.

The tournament now returns to its original home at Moor Park every five years.

In three of the seven Carris Trophies held at Moor Park since 1989, Hertfordshire players have triumped on three occasions.

David Griffiths, from nearby West Herts won in 1997, was followed by The Hertfordshire GC’s Thomas Haylock in 2005, and Welwyn Garden City’s Tom Lewis in 2009.

•A full list of winners of the Reid and McGregor Trophy can be found on the England Golf website.

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Mill Green’s Ellen Hume who was crowned English Women’s Amateur Championship at Saunton Golf Club last summer. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

ENGLAND Golf will attempt to break new ground this summer by holding its men’s and women’s national championships at the same time at one venue – at its Lincolnshire headquarters at Woodhall Spa.

The national governing body had revealed its plan to try to salvage some events from the season wrecked by the COVID-19 crisis.

Both the English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships will now be held at England Golf’s HQ at Woodhall Spa – dubbed by many as the country’s finest inland golf course – subject to Government approval.

Both the renowned Hotchkin and Woodhall’s Bracken course will be utilised for both championships, IF England Golf can resume play as planned in the last week of July.

That is the traditional date for the men’s event – while the women’s has been moved from the end of May, having orginally been scheduled to be played at Sheringham, in Norfolk.

The Brabazon Trophy also moves from the end of May to a new date in August – Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, will remain the host.

The McGregor Trophy – the English Boys U16 Championship – remains at Haworth, but moves back a fortnight to the end of July.

And the Carris Trophy – the English Boys U18s – will switch from St George’s Hill, in Surrey, to Broadstone, in Dorset, and will now be played from August 25-27.

Revised schedule if lockdown allows

England Golf stressed the release of a revised 2020 championship schedule remains a provisional plan and is subject to “further change in accordance with the latest government and expert medical advice on the COVID-19 outbreak.”

A spokesman said: “England Golf’s priority at this time remains to assist the national effort to combat the threat of Coronavirus and ensure we protect our NHS and save lives during the pandemic.

“However, should there be a relaxation to the restrictions on public life in the weeks ahead, our aim is to make sure we are well placed to serve our community of elite and handicap golfers.”

A total of 16 England Golf events have been provisionally rescheduled for late summer and early autumn.

Eight events remain in their original place in the 2020 calendar.

A further three events have yet to be allocated new dates and will be added to the schedule in due course.

The spokesman added: “Unfortunately, it has been necessary to cancel 31 of our national and regional events.”

Single venue mirrors professional game

COMBINING the English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships mirrors moves in the professional game to play some European Tour events at the same venue in recent seasons.

Both events will utilise both of Woodhall Spa’s courses – but will see the women’s event limited to 66 players.

And after 36 holes of strokeplay the top 16 women qualifiers will progress into the matchplay phase – with the 36-hole final being played on the Saturday.

The men’s event – which normally attracts a field of 288 entries – will see the top 64 qualifiers progress into the matchplay as normal on the Wednesday.

The 36-hole final will be played on the Sunday, a day later than the women’s, to accommodate two extra knockout rounds.

In 2019, Hertfordshire’s Ellen Hume won the English Women’s Amateur at Saunton Golf Club by defeating 2017 champion Lily May Humphreys, from Essex, at the 19^th hole.

Stoke Park’s Conor Gough emerged triumphant in the men’s event – beating England team-mate Callum Farr, from Northamptonshire County, at Hankley Common.

The 16-year-old, who went on to play for Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup, just missed out on breaking Harry’s Ellis’s record as the youngest winner at 16, set in 2012.

Stoke Park’s Conor Gough will now defend his English Amateur crown at Woodhall Spa, the home of England Golf, in August. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

The English Men’s and Women’s Seniors Championships are following suit by moving to the same venue on the same date.

Oxfordshire’s Frilford Heath – which has three championship courses, the Red, the Green and the Blue, and which are regularly used for European and EuroPro Tour Qualifying Schools – will host them between August 11 and 13.

The English Boys Final is the biggest casualty in the championship, having been cancelled – the regional qualifiers are normally held during the Whitsun half-term holiday.

The full list of provisional and revised dates and venues for the 24 events currently remaining on the 2020 schedule is:–

• 28 JULY – 1 AUGUST: ENGLISH WOMEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP, WOODHALL SPA GC (HOTCHKIN & BRACKEN)
• 28 JULY – 2 AUGUST: ENGLISH MEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP, WOODHALL SPA GC (HOTCHKIN & BRACKEN)
• 28-30 JULY: ENGLISH U16 & U14 GIRLS’ AMATEUR STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, THORNDON PARK GC
• 28-30 JULY: ENGLISH U16 BOYS’ AMATEUR STROKEPLAY – MCGREGOR TROPHY – HEWORTH GC 
• 4-6 AUGUST: ENGLISH U14 BOYS’ AMATEUR STROKEPLAY – REID TROPHY – PRESTBURY GC
• 11-13 AUGUST: ENGLISH SENIOR MEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP FRILFORD HEATH GC (BLUE)
• 11-13 AUGUST: ENGLISH SENIOR WOMEN’S AMATEUR STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, FRILFORD HEATH GC (GREEN)
• 12 AUGUST: ENGLISH WOMEN’S PAR THREE CHAMPIONSHIP, AMPFIELD GC
• 18-20 AUGUST: ENGLISH WOMEN’S OPEN AMATEUR STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, BURNHAM & BERROW GC
• 18-21 AUGUST: ENGLISH MEN’S OPEN AMATEUR STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP – BRABAZON TROPHY – SHERWOOD FOREST GC
• 25-27 AUGUST: ENGLISH U18 BOYS’ AMATEUR STROKEPLAY – CARRIS TROPHY – BROADSTONE GC
• 25-27 AUGUST: ENGLISH U18 GIRLS’ AMATEUR STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, SANDY LODGE GC
• 11-13 SEPTEMBER: EUROPEAN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP, WOODHALL SPA GC (HOTCHKIN)
• 14-18 SEPTEMBER: ENGLISH WOMEN’S COUNTY FINALS (NEW FORMAT TBC), SPALDING GC
• 25-27 SEPTEMBER: ENGLISH MEN’S COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP (NEW FORMAT TBC), SEACROFT GC
• 6-9 OCTOBER: ENGLISH SENIOR MEN’S COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP (NEW FORMAT TBC), TORQUAY GC

SENIOR SERIES
4 AUG: STOWMARKET GC
26 AUG: ST MELLION GC
5 OCT: SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE GC
TBC – HESKETH GC

GOLF CAPTAINS
5 AUG: STOWMARKET GC
27 AUG: ST MELLION GC
23 SEPT: BROADWAY GC
29 SEPT: MOORTOWN GC
6 OCT: SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE GC
TBC – HESKETH GC
NORTHANTS COUNTY GC

All England Golf coaching sessions remain cancelled

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, England Golf said.

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Rotherham GC’s Ben Schmidt took the New South Wales Amateur Championship, beating England team-mate Callum Farr 7&5 in the final – his fifth national title in less than a year

BEN Schmidt made it an Aussie double for England when he won the New South Wales Amateur Championship after Charlotte Heath’s brilliant weekend victory in the Australian Women’s Amateur.

The 17-year-old Rotherham GC member turned in a dominant performance against Northamptonshire’s Callum Farr in the all-England final, at St Michael’s Golf Club, near Sydney.

The 7&5 victory was highly impressive and another landmark moment in the career of one of world golf’s most promising amateur talents.

Last year, Schmidt completed the Brabazon and Carris double – breaking Sandy Lyle’s 42-year-old record in the process, the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters, and the Justin Rose Daily Telegraph Junior Championship at Quinta do Lago, in November.

The Yorkshire teenager, who became the youngest-ever winner of the Brabazon Trophy at the 2019 English Men’s Amateur Strokeplay at just 16, helped England’s men to Home International success.

Schmidt’s success comes hot on the heels of Heath’s stunning win in the Australian Women’s Amateur Championship.

Heath – who also hails from Yorkshire – claimed the biggest win of her career with a 7&6 triumph over Indonesia’s Mela Putri, at Royal Queensland.

Heath’s victory helped create the feelgood factor among the seven England internationals who travelled to Australia for four top amateur events, as she became just the fifth Brit since 1894 to win the ladies crown, in what is the 10th oldest championship in world golf.

And Schmidt was happy to ride the crest of the wave just five days later.

“It’s great to get a win and the first trophy for the season,” said the player who is a member at the same Yorkshire club as Masters winner Danny Willett.

Schmidt said: “I have played really well all week and felt comfortable out on the course, and was able to continue that feeling into the final.

“To be honest, I played pretty flawlessly and against a player of Callum’s standard that had to be the case.

“My main goal before I started was to treat the 36-hole final as two separate matches. It helped to narrow it down and focus on a shorter target.

“I was able to win the first hole of the day hitting two good shots into the green and from there I just grew in confidence.

“Over the last few weeks everyone in the England team has been able to find a bit of form, and it’s great that I could follow up Charlotte’s win with this success.”

Schmidt was two-up after four holes of the morning round, but was pegged back when Farr managed a brilliant birdie two at the fifth.

But a strong back nine saw him take a five-hole cushion into the afternoon round.

When Schmidt won the fifth hole of the afternoon round with a par to move six clear, it was clear he had one hand on the trophy.

“Me and my caddie Sean had a great game plan and we stuck to it all week.

“I hit some great golf shots and didn’t make many mistakes, and the result shows what happened out there.

“You’ve got to hit it in the right places out here,” Ben added.

“I did all right last year. It’s good to get my first win for this season under my belt. It’s a massive confidence boost.”

Northamptonshire County’s Callum Farr
Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

And Schmidt was full of praise for Farr, and admitted it was tricky taking on a team-mate and friend in such an important final.

“Callum’s a great mate and we get on really well,” said Schmidt.

“There were no hard feelings – we both knew we had to compete and someone had to win. Callum’s had a great week too and it’s great for English golf.”

It also meant an Englishman had won the New South Wales Amateur for the third time in four years.

Hampshire’s 2016 Amateur Champion Scott Gregroy beat Marco Penge, from Goodwood, in another all-English final, in 2017, while Staffordshire’s Gian Marco-Petrozzi won 12 months later.

Schmidt and the other six players representing England on the trip to Australia now have a day off, before a practice round on Sunday ahead of the Avondale Amateur, which starts on Tuesday.

Ben added: “The whole experience of being in Australia and coping with travel, time differences and style of golf courses has been amazing.

“I’ve played four courses now and they all have different features, different types of grass and that’s all part of learning the game.

“Hopefully, all the England players can show up well again in the Avondale.”

Heath returns to fray at Avondale

Charlotte Heath became just the fifth British player to win the Australlian Women’s Amateur Championship in 128 years at Royal Queensland GC. Picture by GOLF AUSTRALIA

HUDDERSFIELD’S Heath missed the NSW Amateur Championship as the final of the Australian Women’s Amateur finished some 12 hours before play began at St Michael’s.

But the 18-year-old will be back for the Avondale and does so with a spring in her step.

After winning on Sunday, she said: “It was a bit stressful and I was super nervous to start.

“I got off to a quick start and then in the second 18 she started playing really good and it was tense.

“I made two bogeys and she made two birdies and I dropped a few. But I kept my head and kept going.”

Heath’s win has earned her spots in two professional events next month – the Vic Open on the Bellarine Peninsula, and the Women’s Australian Open, at Royal Adelaide.

The England international is hoping her school teachers will be wiling to let her take up what should be the opportunity of a lifetime.

•GRACE KIM WINS NSW WOMEN’S AMATEUR

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Stoke Park Conor Gough is the youngest member of the GB&I Walker Cup squad named this week. Picture courtesy The R&A

STOKE Park’s reigning British Amateur champion Conor Gough heads a strong contingent of 12 players from England included in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup squad, named today.

The R&A has announced an initial squad of 26 players who are in contention for selection for the GB&I team to play against the United States of America in the 47^th Walker Cup match at Royal Liverpool, in September.

Sixteen-year-old Gough, who made his Home Internationals debut for England at men’s level last summer is the youngest in the squad in which only nine are aged over 21.

The host nations are aiming to win back the trophy after losing 19-7 at the Los Angeles Country Club two years ago – when there were three Hampshire players in the team.

Captain Craig Watson said, “We have selected a talented group of players who are all in contention for a place in the team to play the United States of America, and will be continuing to monitor the form and results of these players over the course of the season.

“We will also be looking closely at the performances of other players who have not been included in the squad and there is still time for them to play their way into our plans ahead of the final team selection later this year.”

Somerset’s Tom Sloman, who won the 2019 Copa Sotagrande recently, and Dorset’s SANLAM Cape Province Open champion, Thomas Plumb, also feature in a group of 12 English players.

Gough is the same age Hampshire’s Justin Rose was when he became the youngest to be picked to play in the biennial clash which is the amateur game’s equivalent to the Ryder Cup, back in 1997.

Rose had just turned 17 by the time he appeared at Pine Ridge and Essex’s Oliver Fisher broke that record in Chicago in 2005.

Gough is bidding to become the first B.B.&O. player to be picked for the Walker Cup since Luke Donald, who was on the winning team at Nairn in 1999, and again at Sea Island, in Georgia, when Peter McEvoy led GB&I to back-to-back victories for the first time, and won on US soil for only the second time since 1922.

Also in the squad is Sussex’s English Amateur Champion Tom Thurloway (Chartham Park) and Devon’s Jake Burnage, who made a late bid for selection in 2017.

Six players from Scotland have been chosen, including 2019 African Amateur champion, Euan Walker and reigning Scottish Amateur champion, Euan McIntosh, who is the oldest member at 50.

Sandy Scott, who won the El Macero Classic earlier this month, Royal Wimbledon’s Marquette Intercollegiate champion Ryan Lumsden, Kieran Cantley and Jamie Stewart are also in Watson’s plans.

Conor Purcell, who won the 2019 Australian Amateur Championship, is among five players from Ireland to feature in Watson’s squad.

He is joined by 2019 West of Ireland Amateur champion Caolan Rafferty, 2018 Eisenhower Trophy player John Murphy, Mark Power and James Sugrue.

Irish Boys Amateur champion Archie Davies, who hails from Carlisle and is only 17, Ben Chamberlain and Jake Hapgood are the three players from Wales.

There are four players under the age of 18 – the other two are Peterborough Milton’s Robin Williams and Sheffield’s Joseph Pagdin, who is based at Florida’s Lake Nona, and has signed to play for University of Florida, from 2020.

Northamptonshire County’s Benjamin Jones, Pagdin, Williams, Plumb, Gough, and Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick – the younger brother of Ryder Cup player Matt, who played in the 2013 Walker Cup, were all members of the England Boys team that won the 2017 Home Internationals at St Anne’s Old Links.

The GB&I Walker Cup squad will gather at Royal Liverpool for a practice session next week, ahead of the Lytham Trophy, after which the number of players will be reduced for a second practice session in July.

As well as the Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham (May 3-5), and the Brabazon Trophy, at Alwoodley, at end of May, the selectors will be watching events during the St Andrews Links at the Home of Golf in early June – the UK’s other major 72-hole strokeplay championship, which attracts an international field.

The final 10-man GB&I team will be announced in August after the Home Nations hold their respective amateur championships in the first week of the month.

The English Amateur (July 30-August 4) is being held at Hankley Common, in Surrey, with qualifying being jointly held at North Hants GC, while the Scottish event is at Crail in the same week.

The Welsh championship is being held at Tenby, from July 29-August 2, while the Irish Amateur Championship is being staged at Ballybunion, from August 3-7.

The full squad is (England players in bold):

Jake Burnage, 23, Saunton
John Murphy, 20, Kinsale
Kieran Cantley, 21, Liberton
Joseph Pagdin, 17, Lake Nona
Ben Chamberlain, 21, Padeswood & Buckley
Thomas Plumb, 20, Yeovil
Archie Davies, 17, Carlisle
Mark Power, 18, Kilkenny
Alex Fitzpatrick, 20, Hallamshire
Conor Purcell, 21, Portmarnock
Bailey Gill, 21, Lindrick
Caolan Rafferty, 26, Dundalk
Conor Gough, 16, Stoke Park
Sandy Scott, 20, Nairn
David Hague, 22, Malton & Norton
Tom Sloman, 22, Taunton & Pickeridge
Harry Hall, 21, West Cornwall
Jamie Stewart, 19, Old Course Ranfurly
Jake Hapgood, 22, Southerndown
James Sugrue, 22, Mallow
Benjamin Jones, 19, Northamptonshire County
Tom Thurloway, 21, Chartham Park.
Ryan Lumsden, 22, Royal Wimbledon
Euan Walker, 23, Kilmarnock (Barassie)
Euan McIntosh, 50, Turnhouse
Robin Williams, 17, Peterborough Milton

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