Hertfordshire’s England junior international Jack Bigham and Farnham’s Lottie Woad will be able to compete in England’s first mixed-gender junior championship in 2021.
Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

ENGLAND Golf will stage its first ever mixed-gender championship during the 2021 season.

The landmark tournament – the English Under 18 Championship – will see boys and girls tee it up alongside each other and compete for the one trophy at Surrey’s Farnham Golf Club, between 25-27 June.

The field of 132 players (66 boys and 66 girls) will go head-to-head over 72 holes of strokeplay with no handicap or stroke allowances given.

The girls will play from separate tees from the boys, but the set-up will be done in such a way as to make the scores comparable.

England Golf’s director of championships James Crampton said: “We are always looking at innovative and positive ways to take the game forward – and this event is a step in that direction.

“It’s an exciting concept and one that I know the boys and girls will fully embrace.

“This promises to be another fantastic event for junior golfers in England, bringing together the cream of the country’s young amateurs for three days of excellent competition.”

Farnham GC has been given the honour of staging the event – a fitting way for the stunning heathland venue to celebrate its 125^th anniversary.

All competitors will play 18 holes of strokeplay on each of the first two days.

The top 40 players and ties will then progress for the final day and carry forward their scores before a further 36 holes of strokeplay decides the winner.

The championship is also the first “closed” event in England for juniors and repeats the successful formula at events already included in the schedule for men and women.

It is open to competitors who were born in England – or who have a parent or grandparent who were born in England, or who have resided in England for two years prior to the start of the championship.

England junior international Lottie Woad will be one of fancied favourites when the event is held on her home course at Farnham.

Woad – the youngest-ever winner of the Surrey Ladies Amateur Championship at just 15 in 2019 – reached the quarter-finals of the English Amateur this summer.

She also received a couple invites to play in the first and last of the seven Rose Ladies Series events in 2020, including the Grand Final.

Woad made the cut after 36 holes at The Berkshire and North Hants, she qualified for the weekend final at Wentworth, which was sadly abandoned because of the huge heathland fire that swept across the Chobham Common, in early July.

Winning England’s first mixed-gender championship would boost an already impressive CV for the runner-up in the 2018 English Schools Championship.

Moortown – one of Yorkshire’s finest heathland courses – staged the first-ever Ryder Cup held in the UK back in 1929

English Amateurs head to Moortown

ENGLAND Golf’s inaugural mixed-gender event follows on from the staging of the 2020 English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships.

They were held simultaneously at Woodhall Spa – England Golf’s HQ – for the first time earlier this year.

Both championships will continue to be staged side by side in 2021 as a joint celebration of amateur golf in England.

Headingley and Moortown in Leeds will co-host the 2021 English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships between July 27 and August 1.

Moortown last hosted the championship back in 1994 when the format saw 256 players enter a straight knockout with 16 seeded players.

Worksop’s Mark Foster, who went on to win on the European Tour, claimed the first of his two back-to-back championships, beating Alan Johnson in the final, before his successful defence at Hunstanton 12 months later when he beat Sam Jarman.

The use of two venues for the English Amateur was introduced in 2009 when Middlesex’s Luke Goddard beat Surrey’s Farren Keenan in the final at Rye, with Littlestone used as the second qualifying course.

But clubs like Woburn (2011), Frilford Heath (2013), Saunton (2014), The Berkshire (2017) and Woodhall Spa (2020) have two courses capapable of hosting the large championship field during the 36-hole qualifier.\

Moortown also hosted the English Amateur in 1980 when Peter Deeble claimed the crown, and Sir Michael Bonallack famously beat Michael Lunt there in the 1962 final.

The Leeds club first hosted the championship in 1938 when Frank Pennink successfully defended the title he won at Saunton a year earlier.

In 1929, Moortown hosted the first Ryder Cup to be held on UK soil which Great Britain and Ireland won 7-5.

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Ex-Royal Green Jackets officer Rupert Kellock from Sunningdale GC, won the English Seniors Amateur title at Woodhall Spa by three shots. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

SURREY’S Rupert Kellock held his nerve and holed the crucial putts to march to victory in the English Senior Amateur Championship.

As befitted a former Army officer, Kellock played with military precision on the back nine to earn a deserved three-shot victory.

He denied defending champion Ian Attoe the chance to complete a hat-trick in the process.

And Kellock held off a challenge from fellow England senior international Trevor Foster and Maxstoke Park’s Stephen Creed.

The ex-Royal Green Jacket began the final round a shot adrift of three-time winner Attoe – who was going for three in a row – and Sussex’s Andrew Smith, from Royal Ashdown Forest.

However, a one-over par round of 74 around a baked and windswept Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa Golf Club, in Lincolnshire, allowed Kellock to achieve his career highlight.

His finishing total was two-over par after previous rounds of 70 on the Hotchkin and a 76 on the Bracken Course at England Golf’s headquarters.

Kellock – a member at Sunningdale Golf Club – won with a flourish. Birdies at 12, 16 and 18 allowed him to add his own national title to the Welsh crown he won in 2018.

After the victory, Kellock admitted: “It’s terribly pleasing and I’m dead chuffed as they would say.

“It’s always great to win anything and to win the national title is fantastic.

“It’s the largest national title I’ve won and to have beaten Ian Attoe, who has dominated this event for five years makes me very proud.

“I hit the ball a lot better than I scored and was quite comfortable as I was hitting the ball so well. The problem was I wasn’t quite sure what the other scores were.

“Anyway, you play one shot at a time and get on with it and the fact was I was hitting the ball really well makes life so much easier – middle of the fairway, middle of the green, two putts and walk on.”

Pars like birdies on tricky Hotchkin

ON a day when the wind dominated proceedings and made the front nine particularly treacherous for the leading players, pars were treated like birdies.

Kellock started with three pars, but four dropped shots between the fourth and the 10th holes were a setback.

The nerves were steadied however, with a brilliant iron into the short 12th hole. The ball danced around the hole and finished a foot from the cup.

After that tap-in birdie, Kellock found himself tied for the lead with Accrington’s Foster who had started the day three shots behind the leaders.

Foster had dropped only one shot to par at the turn and a birdie at 13 actually put him a shot clear of Kellock again.

But then came Kellock’s nerveless finish capped by a six-foot putt on 18 which caught the right lip of the hole and tumbled for a closing birdie.

Worplesdon’s Attoe couldn’t quite produce the form of the first two days in order to claim a third title on the spin.

The 61-year-old had been struggling with the putter all week and he couldn’t find the touch on the greens when he needed it most.

Iron play was key for Sunningdale’s Kellock

KELLOCK’S closing stretch of holes left him thrilled and in particular the iron play which left him with excellent opportunities for birdies when others were simply grateful for par.

On making birdie at two of the final three holes, Kellock said: “It’s very satisfying as I’d three putted from 20 feet on 14 for a par which was disappointing.

“On the 16th, I hit it to 18 inches and on the 18th I had a two-putt birdie. It was a very, very nice way to finish.

“It sounds very good to be introduced as a champion and I’d like to be English national champion again next year as well.”

Attoe took the prize as the leading player in the 60-64 age group while Kent’s John Wright, from Wildernesse GC, finished first in the over 65s with a 12-over total, having started with an excellent 70, before adding scores of 86 and 74.

Next year’s championship will be held at Blackmoor Golf Club and the Army Golf Club in Hampshire.

•For scores at the English Senior click here.

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Worplesdon GC’s Ian Attoe is aiming for a third English Seniors Championship win in a row when he returns to Woodhall Spa after he played in last week’s English Amateur. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

DEFENDING champion Ian Attoe believes the quality and strength in depth will be on show at this week’s English Seniors Championship.

Last week Attoe took his hat off to fellow “golden oldie” Paul Wharton who – at the age of 59 – made the quarter-finals of the English Amateur Championships at his home club Woodhall Spa.

Attoe, from Surrey, is certain that there is plenty more good golf to come from Wharton and the other 143 competitors taking part in the over 55s championship as England Golf’s headquarters takes centre stage again.

The Lincolnshire venue will stage the 54-hole strokeplay event less than a week after Gloucestershire’s Jack Cope was crowned English Men’s champion – while Ludlow’s Emily Price took the Women’s title for the first time.

The English Seniors will be played on both the Bracken and Hotchkin courses as were last week’s two national championships.

Thursday’s round will be on the Hotchkin and Friday’s on the Bracken.

A cut will be made with the top 60 players completing for the trophy on Saturday on the Hotchkin – rated one of the best parkland courses in the UK.

Lincolnshire return for champion

ATTOE is out to make it a hat-trick of wins after success at Sherwood Forest and Coxmoor, in 2018, and last year at Holme Hall and Elsham, also in Lincolnshire.

That might be easier said than done – especially if Wharton plays to form around the Woodhall Spa courses he knows so well as a member, and if the rest of the field also rise to the occasion.

“It was great to see Paul – a fellow England team-mate – do so well last week,” said 61-year-old Attoe. “He just showed what can be done.

“The Hotchkin can be a fierce test. But Paul and some others showed that there is a score to be made out there.

“The standard of the seniors’ game is going up and up.

“In the past there might not have been some particularly good scores that have won it. But I think even though it’s two tough tracks this week, the scoring will be good.

“There’s so much quality in the field that I could list a whole host of players who could challenge.”

And as for his own chances, the Worplesdon GC member added: “I played some shots last week in the men’s amateur that gives me hope going into this. I didn’t score very well, but there were signs.

“This is a special championship – if you are only going to win one event the whole season then this is it.

“Every year I look to play well and aim for the top three or four – and I’ve been lucky enough to win it three times.

“I like Woodhall Spa as a venue – I’ve played it a lot over the years in the central England men’s events and it has two terrific courses.”

Paul Wharton is a team-mate of England Senior international Ian Attoe and has the advantage of playing on his home course at Woodhall Spa this week. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Seniors championship offers friendly rivalry

A FEATURE of the seniors amateur championship over the years has been the camaraderie off the course.

And while there will be changes to the norm for this year – because of coronavirus crisis – the spirit of friendly rivalry will not diminish.

England Seniors international Attoe added: “The disrupted season certainly affected my motivation to practise when I wasn’t sure there would be any tournaments to aim for.

“We were all extremely fortunate get out playing social golf at our clubs from May. But there was nothing competitive to aim for at that stage.

“I’m extremely pleased England Golf have been able to re-schedule this event and given us old boys something to focus on.

“It is fiercely competitive, but it’s also played in an extremely friendly atmosphere.

“In regular times we all spend almost as much time enjoying each other’s company in the clubhouse as we do out on the course.

“But I’m sure we will all still enjoy our week.”

•To follow live scoring at the English Seniors click here.

Attoe was fourth player to defend English Seniors crown in nearly 40 years

IAN Attoe became just the fourth player to successfully defend England’s Over 55s title in 39 years in 2019.

He joined Alan Squires, Roy Smethurst, and Sussex’s Doug Arnold in achieving the feat – although Smethurst, from Cheshire’s Crewe GC, is the only player to have done it twice, in 2004/5 and 2000/1.

Lancastrian Squires, from Saddleworth, is the only player to have won the trophy three years in a row since the competition was founded in 1981.

Smethurst has the most wins – four in that period – while Attoe joins Sonning Common’s David Lane, Squires, Arnold, and Cheshire’s G M Edwards, who all have three each.

Attoe’s first win came at his home club Worplesdon, back in 2015.

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The Players Club’s Jack Cope claimed the English Amateur Championship by beating Royal Lytham’s Callan Barrow 4&3 at Woodhall Spa. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

JACK Cope revealed a deep sense of pride at adding his name to an illustrious list of winners at the English Men’s Amateur Championship.

The Gloucestershire golfer’s name now sits on the imposing trophy alongside Masters champion Danny Willett, Ryder Cup winners Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Nick Faldo, David Gilford and Mark James.

Cope lifted the famous trophy after a 4&3 victory over Lancashire’s Callan Barrow in a 36-hole final that produced some outstanding moments of golf in the Lincolnshire sunshine.

Cope showed skill and nerve to fend off his friend and rival around the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa Golf Club, the home of England Golf.

The Bristolian was five-up at lunch, shooting seven-under without a blemish on his card.

Barrow – a member at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s Golf Club – can consider himself with a mountain to climb despite shooting two-under over the first 18 holes.

However, Cope’s ball-striking and his touch on the greens proved decisive.

And after racing six holes clear as they turned for home in the afternoon, the Players Club member was finally able to shake off his friend with three holes to spare.

Former England junior international Cope, who celebrated his 21^st birthday on Friday, was clearly emotional at the end of six days of competition.

In the strokeplay qualifying, only fellow Gloucestershire team-mate Joe Long headed Cope with a nine-under total three better than Cope over 36 holes.

And in the matchplay, Cope was superb and deserved to end the week as champion to succeed last year’s teenage sensation Conor Gough, from Stoke Park.

‘Thrilled to be named champion’

COPE could not quite believe what he had just achieved after being handed the trophy at Lincolnshire’s “Home of England Golf.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled to hear it,” admitted Cope after being announced as the winner, two years after he finished third in the Brabazon Trophy at Frilford Heath.

“It’s been a gruelling week, but I’m thankful and proud.

“The morning round was very good. I was seven-under and bogey free.

‘And this afternoon, I kept my wits about me as Cal is an exceptional golfer and he made it a very good game.”

The significance of joining the likes of Sir Nick Faldo, Fleetwood, Willett, Casey – and amateur legends like Gerald Micklem and Sir Michael Bonallack, who claimed the title a record five times – had yet to sink in.

“It feels fantastic – I’m very honoured to be alongside the names on the trophy,” added Cope, who had a spell away from the game recently after breaking his arm.

“The last two years have been exceptionally tough on-and-off the golf course, and I have to thank my parents, coach Russell Covey and Gloucestershire County Union,” Jack said.

“I hope this a big leap in the right direction. I always knew I had ability, but it’s about producing it when it counts.

“I played the West of England fourball at the weekend before this and was asked about my form. I said a big win was close the way I was playing.

“I finished second in the stroke and won the matchplay,” added Cope, who became the youngest-ever Gloucestershire champion in 2017, aged 17.

Callan Barrow was two-under over the first 18 holes, but found himself trailing by five holes in the English Amateur Championship final. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Cope was quick out of the traps going five-up

BARROW and Cope racked up a total of 10 birdies between them in the morning’s play.

Cope was quick out the traps and was four-up through seven holes thanks to birdies at the third, fifth, sixth and seventh.

Barrow had barely put a foot wrong, but the quality on show from his 21-year-old opponent was impressive.

A quality iron into the par three, eighth hole allowed Barrow to roll home a birdie putt from 15 foot and he followed that up with two more on the ninth and 10^th holes to peg back Cope’s lead to just one.

But Cope won both the 13^th and 14^th to restore his grip on the match and he never let it go.

Barrow’s 10-footer down the slope at 18 grazed the hole, while Cope knocked his in from eight feet to take a five-hole lead into lunch.

Yet the Lancashire man refused to give up. He birdied the first hole of the afternoon to get one back, but then lost the next.

A birdie two at the fifth offered hope again, but Barrow couldn’t quite reel in his man.

Even though he found himself six down with nine to play in the afternoon Barrow’s fighter’s instinct took over.

A birdie at 10 and then another 14 kept the match alive. But a par four on the 15^th sealed with a tricky six-foot putt down the slope clinched the title for Cope.

Jack Cope will have the chance to complete a rare English double later this month.
Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Can Jack be the lad at Brabazon too?

COPE will now look to carry his form into the Brabazon Trophy later this month at Sherwood Forest.

He will head to Nottinghamshire bidding to become just the fourth player to win both major trophies in the same season – and the first since Mark Foster in 1995.

Cope appeared to play all this week without nerves.

“I’m glad it looked like that but it didn’t feel like that,” he said with a smile. “My attitude was the main thing.

“I just kept plugging away and tried to keep hitting good golf shots.”

“Cal’s a great guy and a great golfer. That’s the way it goes. I just played exceptionally well.”

•For full scores from the championship click here.

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Ludlow GC’s Emily Price joined the likes of Trish Johnson, Rebecca Hudson and Julie Hall by winning the English Women’s Amateur Championship – beating Lily May Humphreys. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAHY

LUDLOW’S Emily Price celebrated the biggest win of her career after coming from behind to defeat Lily May Humphreys in the English Women’s Amateur Championship final.

Price claimed a 4&3 victory over the England international in a thrilling 36-hole final, at Woodhall Spa Golf Club, in Lincolnshire.

The Shropshire star also became just the seventh player to win both the English Women’s Amateur and Strokeplay title in their career.

That matches the likes of LET stars Trish Johnson and Rebecca Hudson, as well as Scottish-based pro Julie Otto.

She won three national championships as Julie Hall (nee Wade), to go with her two strokeplay victories between 1987 and 1995.

However, the 2020 final score did not tell the full story of a game that ebbed and flowed. And one that perhaps turned with one putt on the 18^th hole of the morning round.

After being two-down to 18-year-old Humphreys for most of the back nine, Price clawed a hole back at the 16^th.

But she found trouble off the tee at the par five, 18^th hole.

However, a smart bunker shot followed by a brilliant wedge and a 15-foot birdie putt saw her head into lunch all-square and with a spring in her step.

A par-birdie start after lunch edged Price into a lead that she never surrendered. Victory was sealed on the 33rd hole on the Hotchkin Course.

For Humphreys, there was deep disappointment a year after losing to Ellen Hume in the final.

However, the Essex golfer – who won the Sunningdale Foursomes before the COVID-19 lockdown came in March – can be proud of her efforts at the home of England Golf.

The glory, though, belonged to Price who cradled the trophy – first played for in 1914 – as she described the best win of her career.

Essex’s Lily May Humphrey’s lost in the final for a second year in a row. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

‘Birdie at the 18th hole was pivotal’

WHEN asked if her birdie on 18 in the morning was significant, the new champion admitted: “Yes – 100 per cent.

“To come in not one-down and to hole a decent length birdie gave me momentum and positive energy,” said Price.

“Lily came out and was playing unbelievable. I was two-down and scraped it back on 18 to get all-square.

“Then I started hot in the afternoon and kept the momentum going.

“The aim was fairways, greens and two putts for pars. I finished three-under which was ok.”

Price underlined her star potential as a 16-year-old by winning the English Women’s Strokeplay Championship in 2016.

Now the sky’s the limit for Price as she prepares to return to Ohio’s Kent State University, in America, for the final two years of her golf scholarship.

After being introduced as the 2020 English Women’s Amateur champion, she said with a smile: “It sounds amazing and feels even better.

“To come and take the win after a very long week is unbelievable. And to perform the way I have is the best feeling you can ever get as a player,” she said.

“It’s been a few years since I won – a distant memory. But it feels good to be holding this and having won an event of this calibre, now I’m 20 years old.

“It will really help boost me and get me going for the rest of the season.”

Great to be back playing golf says new champ

AT the start of the week 66 of the top women amateurs in the country teed it up for two rounds of strokeplay. The top 16 made it through to the knockout stages.

In a safe and secure environment – and with the men’s amateur championship running alongside the women’s for the first time in England Golf’s history – players were able to concentrate on their game.

Price spoke on behalf of the golfers when she said: “It’s been great to get back out there – all of us haven’t played in so long.

“The event has been set up great by England Golf and Woodhall Spa Golf Club and the players have appreciated it – as well as managing boys and girls at the same event.

“It’s been great to have the boys here too and see so many competing.”

•For the full results from Woodhall Spa, click here.

Dorset’s Hayley Davis who won the English Amateur Championship in 2010 at Broadstone

Davis was last player to complete English double

THE other players to complete the English Women’s Amateur and Strokeplay double are Dorset’s Hayley Davis, Yorkshire’s Emma Duggleby, and Lancashire’s Fiona Brown.

Davis, from Ferndown, claimed the English Women’s at nearby Broadstone in 2010 – four years before winning the Strokeplay crown at Tandridge, in Surrey. She is now an LET Access Tour player.

Hudson and Duggleby were Yorkshire and England team-mates and dominated the women’s amateur ranks in the late 1990s and early 21st century.

Hudson’s English Women’s win came at West Sussex in 2001, a year after her strokeplay success at Silloth-on-Solway.

Duggleby won the Strokeplay at Broadstone in 1998. The biggest win of her career came two years later at Hunstanton. It also denied Hudson any chance of the double in the same year.

Johnson, who played for Middlesex before turning pro, is the only player to have won both titles in the same year.

Suffolk’s Julie Wade, a member at Felixstowe Ferry, won the English Strokeplay in 1987 at Northumberland GC. She claimed her first national crown at Little Aston a year later.

Her second Strokeplay came in 1993 at Kings Norton, in Coventry, after her first marriage. Hall then won the English Amateur back to back in 1994 and ‘95, at The Berkshire and Ipswich GC respectively.

Only four women have won the English Championship back to back – the last was Bronte Law in 2014 and 2015.

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England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson (right) believes clubs have realised that membership is releveant and affordable since the COVID-19 crisis.
Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

ENGLAND Golf chief executive JEREMY TOMLINSON has written to club members across the country on the latest developments since the relaxing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions allowed the sport to resume.

IS IT really only four weeks since golf was given the green light by government?

We are just at the beginning of our journey back, yet there’s been so much activity crammed into this first, hectic month.

I’m pleased to say that the positivity buzzing around our beloved game continues to keep us all going through extraordinary times.

Adrenaline has helped conquer fatigue.

For me, it’s been heartening to see a value once again being placed on membership – and the visitor golfer experience – since we all pulled together to re-open courses and facilities on May 13.

England Golf exists to promote the amateur and club game. And I am proud to bang the drum on our game’s behalf.

But we should not make the mistake of undervaluing our game. Too often our sport has sold itself short.

It may have been largely accidental, but the spike in recruitment over last few weeks has proved two key things – golf club membership remains relevant and affordable.

Golf has been forced to hit the reset button. But the reboot gives everyone a chance to start afresh and carry this momentum forward.

England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson has been listening to feedback from members at his own club at Marlborough (pictured) among many others up and down the country

Feedback from clubs ‘very positive’

Each time I’ve been to my home club at Marlborough, visited Bassett Down Golf Complex, in Wiltshire, or spoken to my pals at Swindon’s Broome Manor, I’ve felt the energy for myself.

And, of course, through the national golfing network, I know this story has been repeated up and down the country.

But we must also take a breath as not everything in the garden is rosy.

Clubhouses remain closed and cash is tight. So I’m not naïve to the prospect that the toughest times might yet lie ahead for many of our clubs.

Re-forecasting, re-evaluating, re-planning and, in some cases, re-inventing are all potentially the order of the day, as we look to maximise opportunities and stabilise finances while coming out of this crisis.

Since my last letter, there have been updates on practice facilities, driving ranges and group coaching.

Within a week we can all look forward to visiting our pro shops, as non-essential retail re-opens from Monday…

So, if there are a few pounds burning holes in pockets, we can once again chase the “Holy Grail” of a perfect game – with the help of another new club or piece of equipment!

There’s no doubt too that the return of fourball play from June 1 has also been a game-changer for golf clubs.

I can’t stress to you how much hard work went on behind the scenes to allow golf to quickly reach a point where fourballs were considered safe to resume under government regulations on outdoor recreation.

‘Fourballs have helped clubs enormously’

For clubs, fourball play has helped reduce the pressure on tee-times.

Although, as with many things, I’m well aware of the healthy, ongoing debate on the merits of more players per tee-time.

It felt harsh to turn away golfers or ration slots to golfers already deprived of their sporting fix after months of enforced closure.

Fourballs have allowed clubs to get more members on the course, re-introduce guests and accept visitor bookings.

Of course, there are golfers who enjoyed the freedom of two-ball golf again. I get that.

Slow play is a curse in a fast-moving society and a sub three-hour round is a joy.

For many of our older golfers, there are sound health reasons why two-ball play and limiting social contact remains a wise choice with coronavirus still a threat.

I’ve been pleased to discover so many clubs listening to members and setting aside times for two-balls, while also re-introducing the fourball format.

A “best of both worlds” policy seems to be sensible and right.

The English Amateur Championship for both men and women will be held at Lincolnshire’s Woodhall Spa – the home of England Golf – at the end of July

England championships all set for resumption

Competitions are also an integral part of club life for many members.

After advising clubs and golfers to find their “sea legs” when it came to social distancing and sanitising guidance, I believe the June 1 date was a good time to re-introduce a competitive element to play for those who wanted it.

Safety must always remain the priority. But there’s no reason why competitions cannot take place within the regulations.

Here at England Golf, championship director James Crampton and his team are working towards our own events starting back on July 28

We wanted to offer light at the end of the tunnel by keeping a revised schedule in place. And that shaft of sunshine is getting brighter by the day.

Just as golf clubs eagerly anticipate the day when clubhouses can safely re-open, we too need a change in lockdown regulations to allow hotels to function and our events to tee off.

If the government’s roadmap out of lockdown remains on track, we will hopefully receive good news on that front soon…

In the spirit of golf’s return it was brilliant to see our friends at the European Tour promote a “UK Swing” as the professional game gears up for a comeback.

Likewise, our fantastic England Golf ambassador Justin Rose has proved his class once again by sponsoring seven events to allow many of the LET golfers to play competitively from June 18.

Slowly, safely and surely golf is beginning to find its feet. By continuing to work together, we will soon stand tall.

Jeremy Tomlinson, England Golf chief executive

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THE LET’s Meghan MacLaren has backed ground-breaking plans to stage the English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships simultaneously at Woodhall Spa in July.

The 25-year-old, who came through the England ranks as an amateur, has called for greater equality in prize money in the pro ranks.

She believes England Golf’s plan is another innovative step forward for golf.

McLaren went close to the first European Tour event that saw LET players compete head to head with Challenge and Staysure Tour members just over a year ago in the Jordan Mixed Open.

Dutchman Daan Huizing with the Jordan Mixed Open trophy. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

Having won the Women’s New South Wales Open for the second year in a row in March 2019, she finished second behind Daan Huizing, the winner of the St Andrews Links and Lytham Trophy as an amateur, in 2012, a month later.

Golf Foundation ambassador McLaren became the latest golfer to give up time to impart her knowledge of the game to England Golf’s national squads via an online Q&A session.

MacLaren looked back fondly on her amateur career with England and her time at Florida International University, where she won eight times.

In 2016, MacLaren was crowned European champion with England’s women’s amateur team  – the same year she helped GB&I to win the Curtis Cup.

MacLaren won LET Access Series

Meghan earned her tour card on the Ladies European Tour after winning the LET Access Series Order of Merit in 2017, having also won the last event of the 2016 season having turned pro in the autumn.

As a pro, MacLaren has won twice on the LET and has earned praise for her thought-provoking blogs about life on tour and her championing of the women’s game.

England Golf’s announcement last week that the staging of both the men’s and women’s amateur championship had been provisionally re-scheduled for the last week in July at the same venue has created a buzz.

MacLaren has been a strong advocate of equality in the game and hopes the coronavirus situation has eased by then to allow the events to take place side-by-side as planned.

“It might only be because of circumstances, but it’s a brilliant opportunity to see how it works going forward,” admitted the Wellingboro GC member, whose father is head of the Staysure Tour.

“There are a couple of events like that on the pro circuit – the Vic Open in Australia is the main one. It’s two separate events for men and women, but staged at the same time.

“I think it’s cool that it could be considered normal,” said Meghan, who has been brought up in a golfing family that cares passionately about the game at all levels.

“Men’s and women’s golf is different, but it doesn’t have to be different in terms of opportunities or prize funds at the pro level, or levels of talent.

“It’s just golf being played by different genders – and the earlier that becomes normal the better it is for the game as a whole,” she added.

Wellingboro Golf Club’s Meghan MacLaren – 2019 New South Wales Open champion after successfully defending her title. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

Curtis Cup winner opens up about life on tour

MacLAREN’S talk with the class of 2020 provided more than an hour’s worth of insight into her career, her development and her hopes for the future.

As with previous guests, Matt Wallace and Matt Fitzpatrick, the questions flooded in and MacLaren was only too happy to give a little back to the organisation that gave her so much in her amateur career.

The former Wee Wonders winner added: “All the squads are in great hands with the coaches at their disposal.

“But sometimes it’s different to hear things from a player who has previously been in squads.

“A player might go through the emotion of not being picked for a team – or not knowing if they are good enough to get on tour – or not knowing how they stand in relation to the best players in the world.

“It can even be something as simple as being told it’s ok not to practice for a couple of days if you’re working on mental or physical things.

“Now this seems to me like common sense, but when I look back there was a lot that I didn’t know.

“I questioned a lot of things, but I didn’t really know where to find the answers.”

Wee Wonders ace still keeps tabs on amateur game

MacLaren still keeps tabs on the amateur game and in January caught up with Yorkshire’s Charlotte Heath in Australia.

Heath had qualified for the Vic Open after winning the Australian Women’s Amateur, and the English contingent of Felicity Johnson, from the Midlands, Hertfordshire’s Hannah Burke, MacLaren and Heath enjoyed a rare photo opportunity.

“We were all on the putting green one day and it was cool to see different groups from England Golf coming together at an event like that,” said MacLaren.

“Charlotte did really well – I think out of the four of us she was the only one that made the cut. We had to learn from her.

“I still look at the amateur ranks and while I don’t know someone like Lily May Humphreys, I’ve seen how successful she has been and it’s intriguing for me to see what happens next.

“I loved my England days and still miss the input of being in a team environment – talking to coaches, players and practising together.

“You gain a lot from that and you only realise how much when it’s not there.”

• Masters Champion Danny Willett, the 2017 European No. 1 Tommy Fleetwood, Ryder Cup player Chris Wood and Solheim Cup stars Mel Reid and Bronte Law have all volunteered to pass on their wit, wisdom and experience to England squad members in online webinars over the coming weeks.

R-L: Ex-England amateurs Felicity Johnson, Hannah Burke, Meghan MacLaren and Australian Women’s Amateur winner Charlotte Heath, from Yorkshire, at the Vic Open in February

The post MacLaren races to support England Golf for combining men’s and women’s amtaeur appeared first on Golf North.

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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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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Somerset’s Amanda Mayne shot two rounds of 79 at Woodhall Spa to be crowned English Senior Women’s County Champion of Champions. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

SOMERSET champion Amanda Mayne has become the second player to be crowned as the English Senior Women’s County Champion of Champions.

The Saltford GC member followed in the footsteps of inaugural champion Alison Kelly, from Gloucestershire, after carding two rounds of 79 to claim a three-shot victory on 12-over par at this year’s event at Lincolnshire’s Woodhall Spa, the HQ of England Golf.

Mayne’s nearest rival was Kent’s Kim Morris, who opened with an 82 but then fired a closing 79 to finish alone in second place on 161.

Last year’s champion Kelly, from Cirencester GC, was third in the defence of her title after posting an 80 and an 83, while Lancashire’s first-round leader Janet Melville dropped down to a share of fourth place with Norfolk’s Tracey Williamson (82, 82), after adding an 87 to her opening round of 77.

Williamson, who has won the Mothers and Daughters at Royal Mid-Surrey, with Royal Cromer’s England junior international Amelia four times in the last six years, carded two rounds of 82.

Mayne’s victory came 12 months after finishing tied fifth seven shots behind Kelly at the inaugural Senior Women’s County Champion of Champions event over the Green course at Frilford Heath.

Melville tied for seventh in Oxfordshire a year ago. For the full results from Woodhall Spa click here.

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