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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LEFT TO RIGHT: England Golf Awards host Dan Walker, Young Ambassador of the Year Lou McLoughlin, England Golf’s Emma Anderson and Brendon Pyle from the Golf Foundation

CHESHIRE teenager Louise McLoughlin loves helping people enjoy golf – and her bubbly enthusiasm has won her the title of England Golf’s Young Ambassador of the Year.

The 18-year-old received the accolade, presented in association with the Golf Foundation, at last night’s England Golf Awards.

The audience of more than 400 guests at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel heard how the judges were impressed by her enthusiastic personality and by the time she volunteers to support and inspire other golfers.

“This is so exciting,” said Lou, who is a member at Bromborough Golf Club. “It means everything! You don’t realise people think so much of you and when you find out, it’s special.”

Lou is a keen golfer who plays off eight and represents her club and plays for Cheshire women’s B team.

She got into the sport when she was 11, because she wanted to join her brother and dad in their regular games with her grandfather.

Lou said: “My grandad was the reason I started.”

She loved the sport straight away and before long was involved with the Cheshire girls’ programme.

The teenager grabbed the chance to get involved as an Ambassador with Girls Golf Rocks, the recruitment campaign run by England Golf and the Golf Foundation.

Lou said: “There weren’t any other girls when I started, but now we’ve got nine girls at Bromborough and lots of girls in Cheshire.”

As well as encouraging the new girl players for the last two years, she also volunteers to support juniors and women beginners at her club and goes into local schools.

“I love golf and I like making people happy,” she explained.

Lou has also shared her views with the county men’s and women’s organisations, which have drawn up an action plan to get more young people into club membership. The secret, she believes, is keeping people excited about the game, and making it fun and flexible.

Lou is currently at college studying sports management but will soon start an apprenticeship in engineering.

Meanwhile, she’s continuing to work on her golf and would love to get down to four handicap this season – one better than her dad!

Lou was presented with hr award by Brendon Pyle, chief executive of the Golf Foundation, and Emma Anderson, a past winner of the title who now works for England Golf.

She was challenged for the Young Ambassador Award by three other impressive young volunteers who are all making a difference in golf.

The other finalists in the awards sponsored by adidas Golf were:–

• Ella Baker from Warley Woods Golf Club in the West Midlands
• Jessica Pilgrim from Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire
• Georgina Wrixon from Ashley Wood Golf Club, Dorset

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