The winning England team at last year’s European Nations’ Championship at Sotogrande GC. Back row – Yeovil GC’s Tom Plumb and Bailey Gill, from Lindrick. Front: Tom Sloman, who won the gold individual medal and Northamptonshire County’s Ben Jones (right)

NEXT month’s European Nations’ Championship due to be held at Spain’s Sotogrande Golf Club, have been postponed – along with events in Ireland – because of the coronavirus crisis.

Organisers of the prestigious event at the Sotogrande GC – on the Costa del Sol – have responded to the Covid-19 outbreak in Spain and across Europe.

The announcement was quickly followed by the Golf Union of Ireland’s announcement that the annual boys international against Wales at Caridgan GC, on March 20 and 21, was being called off.

The Irish Ladies Golf Union cancelled the Irish Girls Open Strokeplay at Roganstown, from April 3-5, while the ILGU will also not be sending a team to the French U21 Championship next month.

England’s men and women were due to compete at the European Nations’ on the Costa del Sol along with 15 other countries from April 15-18.

In 2019, the England men’s team struck gold while Tom Sloman, from Somerset’s Taunton and Puckeridge GC, won the individual title.

England’s women earned a bronze medal – their best-ever finish in the event.

Sotogrande Golf Club’s Maria Jose Arias said: “The expansion of COVID-19 leaves us with no other option than to postpone the tournament until there is a favourable scenario without risks.

“Our intention is to be able to host the tournament this year whenever it is possible.

“We deeply regret this situation and wish everyone good health in these difficult times.”

The European Nations’ Championship is not the first top amateur event to be cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus epidemic, which was upgraded to a pandemic on March 11.

The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific – due to be held in the second week of February – was called off first, followed by the Bonallack Trophy, the match between Asia and Europe.

The WAAP will now be played in October, at Thailand’s Siam Country Club, in Pattaya.

The Italian Golf Federation has postponed the Italian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships along with several senior events on the international calendar.

College golf in the USA has also been hit, with the rest of the NCAA season now cancelled.

The post Sotogrande call off European Nations’ Championship as coronavirus spreads in Spain appeared first on Golf North.

Bailey Gill receives his trophy from Ziyad Al Zubair, after winning the MENA Tour’s Ghala Open with two Houdini-like efforts to get up and down for birdie on the last two holes

LINDRICK’S Bailey Gill made two stunning birdies from almost impossible positions in his last two holes to claim his maiden pro victory and deny Berkshire’s David Langley a second MENA Tour victory in 2020 at the Ghala Open, in Oman.

The former England amateur international beat roommate and Journey to Jordan No. 1 champion David Langley by one shot, in the Omani capital Muscat.

Gill, who hails from Worksop, in Nottinghamshire, like Lee Westwood – but who is a member at Lindrick Golf Club, just over the Yorkshire border – was one behind leader Scot Craig Ross on the 16th tee.

Gill finished with three birdies in a row, including spectacular chips on the 17th and 18th holes to within a couple of feet for a 16-under par finish.

Gill, who was also a member of England’s Raymond Trophy winning team in Lahinch, in September, was one shot behind the leader going into last week’s final round of the inaugural NewGiza Open, in Cairo, but finished tied 12^th.

But Gill was not to be denied this week as he compiled a bogey-free round, that included five birdies in the last six holes.

The highlights were the ones on the 17th and 18th.

On the penultimate hole of the course, the left-hander pushed his drive and was faced with a difficult chip shot over the bunker with very little space to stop the ball.

On the 18th, he hit his tee shot left again and could barely see the flag from the desert area.

Left-hander Bailey Gill, from Lindrick, produced five birdies in his last six holes to deny David Langley – the winner of Journey to Jordan No. 1 – a spot in next week’s Oman Open

On both occasions, the 2016 Welsh Open Youths Strokeplay Champion hit his chips stone dead.

“This is fantastic,” said Gill. “I have been waiting for some time now for this to happen.

“It did not happen in Cairo, but I am glad I could hang on and win here in Oman,” said Gill.

“Those two were tough shots on the last two holes. I hit a horrible tee shot on the 18th hole and there was a lot of pressure when David holed his putt for a birdie on the last.

“David really played great despite the poor start he had, especially on that back nine.

“I was disappointed last week, but I came here knowing I was playing solid.

“I have been playing good golf for some time now, just struggling to get everything together and I am glad I managed to do that.”

Langley bounce back after bad start

LANGLEY, who was looking for his second win of the season, was two-over par at the turn for the day.

But the Castle Royle ace, who was a member of the same Home Internationals team as Gill at Conwy GC, in 2018, went about his back nine in seven-under to finish second on 15-under.

The overnight leader started with a double bogey, but caught fire on the back nine, where he made a 20-footer eagle putt from the fringe on the 10th after nearly driving the green.

“I am gutted, but after that finish, if I had to lose to someone, I’d rather it be Bailey,” said the 25-year-old, also playing his first full season as a professional.

“I was rooming with him last week in Cairo and I know how upset he was after the finish there – credit to him for getting it done.

“I hit a perfect tee shot on the first and made a poor swing with my second. Obviously, the adrenaline was pumping a bit.

“That double affected me on the fourth hole, which is a par-five and I could not make a birdie there.

“Being two-over after four on an easier stretch was not ideal, but I stayed patient and went on a roll on the back nine.

“A win here would have possibly got me two European Tour starts so there was that pressure.

“Good to see Bailey getting the Oman spot and I am in a nice position to get into Morocco after this.”

Kirkhill’s Craig Ross finished third

Bailey Gill gets into the Oman Open at nearby Al Mouj next week as the Ghala Open while the leader at the halfway stage in the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit earns a spot in the Hassan Trophee II, in Morocco, in early June.

Ross, looking for his first win on the MENA Tour, made a superb par save on the 17^th.

But the EuroPro Tour winner paid the price for a wayward tee shot on the 18th to make a double bogey that dropped him down to 12-under and back into third place.

Ross collected a cheque for $6000 and moved up to sixth on the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit, after the first three events of the season.

Sam Locke – the 2017 Scottish Amateur Champion – was also in the hunt after reaching the turn in four-under. But his challenge faded as he came home in 39, making bogeys at the 12th, 14th and 16th.

•For final scores at the Ghala Open, click here.

Indian Arjun Gupta, who is based in Dubai, produced his best-ever MENA Tour finish

Gupta records best-ever MENA Tour finish

INDIA’S Dubai-based amateur Arjun Gupta recorded his best finish on the MENA Tour courtesy of a bogey-free closing round of 66.

He finished in fourth on 11-under, one ahead of Northamptonshire County’s Ben Jones – the runner-up in last year’s Amateur Championship, who closed with a 66 as well.

Jones was tied fifth alongside Kent’s Alfie Plant (71), Middlesex’s Pavan Sagoo (71) and Essex’s Curtis Knipes (68) along with Ireland’s Walker Cup player Paul McBride (66).

Gupta, who turns 16 in May, showed once again why he is considered one of the brightest prospects in the region as he notched his first top-five on the MENA Tour and came to within one shot of earning his first-ever Official World Golf Ranking points.

“I am happy with my finish. The whole week my short game and my putting was very good,” said Gupta.

“I could have probably driven the ball a bit better, but I can’t complain after such a finish,” added the Dubai-born pro, who is coached by Jamie McConnell at the Claude Harmon Performance Institute.

“I want to win the Amateur Journey to Jordan this year and this is a good step in that direction.

“I also want to win a tournament on the MENA Tour and this gives me confidence that I am close,” said Gupta.

•The MENA Tour moves to Bahrain for the fourth leg of the 2020 season at the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open from February 24-26.

The post Bailey Gill claims his maiden MENA Tour win in Oman to earn European Tour start appeared first on Golf North.

Castle Royle’s David Langley leads the Ghala Open, in Oman, after a seven-under par 65 in the second round in Muscat. But there are five players just a shot behind with a round to go

WITH a spectacular slam-dunk eagle the highlight in his card of seven-under par 65, Castle Royle’s David Langley moved into contention for a possible second title in three weeks on the MENA Tour, in Oman.

The 25-year-old from Marlow, playing in his first full season as a professional, won the Tour’s season-opening Journey to Jordan No. 1 by four shots two weeks ago.

And the former England international will go into the final round of the $75,000 Ghala Open leading by one shot at 10-under par.

Langley, who was named in the provisional Walker Cup squad for the clash with the USA at Hoylake, did a fantastic job of front-running at Ayla Golf Club.

Langley started from the 10th and after a par on his first hole, he holed out his second shot from 84 yards on the par-four 11th – the ball disappearing after pitching right in the hole.

The only bogey of his round came soon after on the 14th hole, but after hitting 16 greens in regulation, he was never in any major trouble after that and also picked up shots on all four par-fives.

“It was a pretty good day,” said Langley, whose maiden win came within weeks of losing his father.

“When you start with an eagle like that, it’s always good,” added Langley.

“I flew it straight into the hole and I feel sorry because I damaged the cup a bit.

“Made a silly error on the 14^th, and missed a short birdie putt on the 17^th, but apart from that, it was solid golf,” said Langley, who moved up to No. 1187 in the world rankings after his win in Jordan.

“I feel confident. I am swinging it really well. I think I have gained strokes in driving every day this season on the MENA Tour and yesterday was probably the only round when I did not gain strokes in putting.

“I played so well in the final round in Egypt, but I guess I was trying too hard over there and shot just two-under when I had a very low one in me that day.

“A tied eighth finish is pretty good, but I learned a lot from that round, and from Jordan. So, hopefully, we can get the job done tomorrow.”

But with five players just one shot behind, including the 2017 Open Championship Silver medalist Alfie Plant (68), it will make for an exciting afternoon at Ghala Golf Club on Wednesday.

Kent’s Alfie Plant who was just one shot behind David Langley in the Ghala Open

Also at nine-under par were the English trio of Pavan Sagoo (67), from Middlesex, Wentworth’s Jake Ayres (68) and Lindrick’s Bailey Gill (67) plus Scotland’s Craig Ross (67), from Kirkhill Golf Club, a winner on the EuroPro Tour two years ago.

The resurgent Sagoo, from Ealing, was unfortunate to make a double bogey with a wayward tee shot coming in on the par-four seventh hole.

Another recent champion, Sebastien Gros was also lurking dangerously after a second straight 68 which left the Frenchman alone on eighth place at eight-under par.

Meanwhile overnight leader and fellow Frenchman Antoine Schwartz (71) was three behind as he attempts to win back-to-back.

Former Scottish Amateur Champion Sam Locke (70), the Silver Medallist as the low amateur at the 2018 Open, and Yorkshire’s in-form David Hague (68) were also three behind the leader at seven-under.

India’s Arjun Gupta was the leading amateur after the second round, courtesy a splendid 67 that took him up to tied 16th place, two ahead of Russian Ivan Striganov (74).

There was also a proud moment for Saudi golf as all three players in the field – professional Othman Almulla and amateurs Saud Al Sharif and Ali Alsakha – made the cut, which fell at two-over par.

The Ghala Open champion gets an added bonus in the form of a spot in next week’s $1.75 million Oman Open on the European Tour.

•For live scoring in the Ghala Open, in Oman, click here.

The post Castle Royle’s Langley lines up second MENA Tour in a fortnight with 65 in Oman appeared first on Golf North.

Curtis Knipes faces a final round challenge from two-time European Challenge Tour winner Sebestien Gross who trails the Essex rookie by three shots in the MENA Tour’s NewGiza Open

CURTIS Knipes faces a final day threat from France’s European Challenge Tour winner Sebastien Gros in the MENA Tour’s NewGiza Open.

Rookie Knipes may well have to rely on his three shot cushion as he seeks a maiden win in his just his second MENA event.

The two-time Essex Amateur Champion, from Chelmsford Golf Club, played in the tougher afternoon session to stay ahead of the field

The teenage pro shot a four-under par 68 in the second round of the $75,000 NewGiza Open, the first-ever MENA Tour event in Egypt.

The 19-year-old former England junior started the day from the 10th tee with a two-shot lead at NewGiza Golf Club, which has Cairo’s famous Pyramids as a a backdrop.

Curtis made the turn at one-under par with a bogey on the 18th.

Knipes’ second nine was even better as he picked up three shots without dropping any to take his 36-hole aggregate to 10-under, having shot 66 on Tuesday.

“I was happy with that round. It’s always good to follow up a good first round with a solid second to keep yourself in contention,” said Knipes, who qualified for last year’s at Open at Royal Portrush.

Knipes, who is playing only his second event as a professional, added: “Tomorrow is obviously a big day for me.

“It’s the first time leading the MENA Tour and being in the final group of the day. I will just try and approach it as I have done every other day.

“I can’t control what others are doing. I am just going to go out there and shoot the lowest round that I can,” said the 2018 English County Champion of Champions.

England’s 19-year-old Bailey Gill shot the best round of the tournament so far – a seven-under par 65 – to climb to second place at nine-under.

Twenty-two-year-old Gill, who hails from Worksop and plays at Lindrick Golf Club, started with a bogey on the 10th hole, his only mistake of the day.

“It was very cold out there in the morning and I was first off, said the player from the same Nottinghamshire town as Lee Westwood.

Gill added: “I hit a driver and wedge into the 10th yesterday, and it was a driver, three-iron today.

“But I played well after that,” said Gill, who matched the course record at NewGiza Golf Club.

“I will continue doing what I have been doing so far. Just stick to my notes and put up a performance that is hopefully good enough.”

Gros ‘lost motivation’ with no card

SEBASTIEN Gros, who lost his European Tour card after the 2018 season, was bogey-free for his round and hoping to get back to winner’s circle tomorrow.

The former European Tour player, who is a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour, was in tied third place alongside the promising Swede Niclas Weiland.

Both players shot successive round of four-under par 68

Gros said: “Always happy with a bogey-free round. I played well and hit 17 greens in regulation so I did not have to worry too much about getting my pars.

“I just wish I was as efficient as yesterday on the greens, but I should not complain after a 68,” added Gros.

“It was good to finish with a tap-in birdie on the 18^th after I missed chances on every hole from the 14^th to 17^th.

“The last year was very disappointing, but it was very hard to motivate myself to play on the Challenge Tour after spending three years at the highest level on the European Tour,” said Gros giving an insight into the mental challenges players face trying to get to the top.

“My friends told me some very good things about the MENA Tour and how it can be a great preparation for the season, and I decided to come” said Sebastien.

“Hopefully, tomorrow I will be in contention over the last nine holes.”

Conor Purcell, the promising young star from Ireland, was even par for the five par-five holes on the new Egyptian course.

But the last year’s Walker Cup player – who claimed the 2019 Australia Amateur Championship, still shot a 67 to rise to fifth place on seven-under.

The Portmarnock member, who made his first appearance in a pro event in last year’s ISPS Handa Vic Open while still an amateur, made his pro debut in November’s New South Wales Open, having reached No. 10 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Purcell, who has signed for American management firm Wasserman, also received an invite into the Emirates Australian Open, at The Australian GC, in December, as the Australian Amateur Champion, but missed the cut by seven shots.

•Click here for live scoring from the third and final round of the NewGiza Open.

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Thurloway, from Chartham Park, beat Gloucestershire’s Joe Long 6&5 in last year’s final at Formby, and is now seeking to become the first player to win back-to-back championships since Paul Casey in 2000 and 2001.

Long, from Lansdown Golf Club, also returns attempting to go one better than last year – having played well in the 2018 Hampshire Hog, which was won by his close friend Mitch Waite, who is now in the pro ranks.

Saunton GC’s Jake Burnage the 2017 Hampshire Hog winner. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

St Andrews Links Trophy winner Jake Burnage, from North Devon’s Saunton GC, also made his breakthrough win at North Hants just two years ago.

Burnage missed the European Amateur Team Championships in Sweden earlier this month – something that would normally preclude a player’s chance of Walker Cup selection.

Burnage, who starteed the season in the England A squad, will be battling against his nine England rivals, who are keen to press their claims for one of the 10 spots in Walker Cup captain Craig Watson’s team to face the Americans at Royal Liverpool, in September.

The top-ranked player in this year’s field is World No. 30, Tom Sloman, from Somerset’s Taunton & Pickeridge Golf Club, who won the individual title at the European Nations Cup at Spain’s Sotogrande, in the spring.

Sloman is joined by Lindrick and Yorkshire’s Bailey Gill and Yeovil and Somerset’s Tom Plumb, who were also part of the English squad that defended the team title in southern Spain – all three are in the GB&I squad.

With the team expected to be named in less than two weeks after the US Amateur, the English event represents B.B.&O.’s David Langley’s last chance to impress on UK soil at least.

Wallasey’s Walker Cup hopeful Joshua McMahon. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

Also looking to impress the Walker Cup selectors are Wallasey’s Josh McMahon, who was named in the provisional 16-man squad after his victory in the Lytham Trophy, in May, and Northamptonshire County’s Ben Jones, who reached the last four in The Amaetur Championship at Portmarnock, in June.

West Cornwall’s Brabazon runner-up Harry Hall and Hexham’s Matty Lamb – who were part of the English team that finished runner-up to hosts Sweden in the recent European Men’s Team Championship – are also heading to the Hampshire-Surrey border with the two qualifying courses which are just 11 miles apart.

Lamb has already won at North Hants this year having claimed the Hampshire Hog with a superb course record 63 in the second round, in April and earned his GB&I call-up with some strong showings since.

Also teeing it up at the Fleet club where Justin Rose made a name for himself as an amateur by Hallamshire and Yorkshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick, whose brother Matt has been a Ryder Cup team-mate of Rose’s.

Wiltshire’s England A squad member Jake Bolton, from Ogbourne Downs, went close at North Hants to landing both the Hampshire Hog and the Hampshire Salver, having to settle for runner-up.

Hexham’s Matty Lamb winner of the Hampshire Hog, at North Hants GC, in April. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

Fellow squad member Billy McKenzie will lead the Hampshire charge aiming to follow in the footsteps of Meon Valley’s Harry Ellis, who became the youngest-ever winner of the English Amateur in 2012, aged just 16, breaking Sir Nick Faldo’s record which had stood since 1975.

Corhampton’s Scott Gregory was the beaten finalist at Saunton in 2014 – two yeas before he became Hampshire’s first-ever Amateur Champion and lost in the 2016 Spanish Amateur to France’s Romain Langasque, who had won the R&A’s prestigious crown the previous summer at Carnoustie.

McKenzie, having had dreams of making this year’s Walker Cup squad after his Spanish Amateur final win over Fitzpatrick in 2018, will be keen to make up for lost time and emulate former Hampshire Boys team-mate’s Gregory and Ellis by reaching the latter stages of the matchplay.

The left-hander, who was ranked in the top five in the USA’s NAIA rankings between 2014 and 2017 while at William Woods University, beat Castle Royle’s Langley 7&6 in front of the Great Britain and Ireland selectors at Portmarnock, last month.

Other England A squad members teeing it up are Northamptonshire County’s Callum Farr, who won the 2018 Selborne Salver at Blackmoor’s equally demanding heathland track, and Cheshire’s James Newton, from Prestbury, winner of the Irish Amateur Strokeplay, in May.

Howley Hall’s Ben Hutchinson, a member of the England A squad. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES.

Yorkshire’s Ben Hutchinson, from Howley Hall, Hertfordshire’s Harry Goddard (Hanbury Manor) and Lincolnshire’s Sam Done, from Kenwick Park, are the other England A squad members who will want a good week.

They can push their cases for a place in England’s Home Internationals team that willl head to Lahinch, the recent venue for the Irish Open on the European Tour, as defending champions, in September.

The field of 288 players also includes England Boy’s squad members Barclay Brown, also a member at Yorkshire’s Hallamshire GC, Surrey’s Enrique Dimayuga (Walton Heath), Stoke Park’s 2018 British Boys champion Conor Gough, Dubai=based Josh Hill, Hertfordshire’s Max Hopkins, Suffolk’s Habebul Islam, Trevose’s George Leigh, and Berkshamsted’s Ben Pierleoni.

The players were due to play 18 holes at both courses in qualifying with the top 64 and ties going through to the matchplay, although with a very poor weather forceast, including the threat of thunderstorms, organisers England Golf will be prepared for the possibility of qualifying being decided over 18 holes – as it was at Alwoodley, in Leeds, four years ago.

The seeded draw should commence on Thursday morning at Hankley Common, with a possible preliminary round. The last 32 and 16 matches are scheduled for Friday with the quarter and semi-finals due to be played on Saturday with the 36-hole final on Sunday.

For live scoring click here.

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ENGLISH international Amelia Williamson produced the low round of the last day to come from behind and win the women’s event at France’s Chiberta Grand Prix.

It also proved to be a good event for the Norfolk ace}s England team-mate Georgina Blackman, who finished tied for second place in a strong international field.

Nineteen-year-old Williamson, from Royal Cromer Golf Club, who has just completed her first year at Florida State University, started the final round six shots adrift of Laura Van Respaille after opening rounds of 71, 72 and 69.

But the Seminoles star based in Tallahassee, carded six birdies in a closing five-under par 65, which saw her leapfrog the Frenchwoman and claim a three-shot victory after carding a three-under total of 277.

Essex’s 2018 English Women’s Amateur Champion Georgina Blackman, from Chelmsford GC, opened up the event with rounds of 67, 70 and 72 to sit three shots behind Van Respaille.

Blackman then carded a closing 71 to finish tied second with the French player on level par.

Van Respaille started her final round brightly with three birdies in her opening five holes, but then carded six bogeys and a double bogey on her way to shooting a 74.

There were also some fine English performances in the men’s event with Lindrick’s Bailey Gill, Callum Farr, from Northamptonshire County, and Castle Royle’s David Langley all finishing within the top 15 on the leaderboard behind winner, Frenchman Paul Margolis.

The best of the bunch was 20-year-old Gill, who went into the final round in fourth place after rounds of 67, 71 and 65. He started his final round with an eagle three on his way to recording a four-under 66.

That saw the Yorkshireman climb to third place on 11-under with a total of 269. The result comes hard on the heels of Gill reaching the last 16 in The Amateur Championship, at Portmarnock.

Twenty-five-year-old Farr, who was runner-up in the Spanish Amateur in early March, carded two rounds of 66, a 74 and a 67 to finish seventh on seven-under par while B.B.&O. Walker Cup hopeful Langley was four shots further back in a share of 13th place.

Langley – last year’s Philip Scrutton Jug winner – for the best aggregate in the Brabazon and Berkshire Trophies – carded rounds of 69, 70, 66 and 72.

B.B.&O.’s David Langley who won the Philip Scutton Jug in 2018 – one of the most prestigious strokeplay prizes in English Amateur golf, at The Berkshire, in Ascot.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alwoodley: First MacKenzie design

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

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

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

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

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

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

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England’s winning European Nations Cup team at Sotogrande, who wil face Spain next weekend at Formby. Picture by LEADERBOARD

THE players who won the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande last weekend have all been selected for England’s team to face Spain, in next week’s annual international, at Formby Golf Club.

Champions Ben Jones, Tom Plumb, Tom Sloman and Bailey Gill (pictured left to right above) will be joined at the Lancashire links course by the women’s European Nations Cup bronze medallists, Georgina Blackman, Emily Toy and Bel Wardle for the mixed-team format clash.

The 10-strong team will be completed by Devon’s Jake Burnage, Ben Hutchinson and Essex’s Lily May Humphreys.The players will follow in the steps of golfing giants as they take part in the biennial match, over the weekend of April 27 and 28.

Over the years, it’s been contested by the likes of Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal.The match started in 1985 as a men’s fixture with England leading Spain 14-2 by 2013.

It became a mixed event in 2015 and England have won both matches played so far.

The teams compete for the Seve Ballesteros Trophy and this year’s match will be played in memory of Spain’s Celia Barquin Arozamena – the 2018 European Ladies’ Champion, who was tragically murdered while at college at Iowa, in the USA, last year.

Meet England’s 10-strong squad to face Spain at Formby

Georgina Blackman, 23, (Chelmsford, Essex) – English Women’s Amateur Champion was third in the 2109 Portuguese Women’s Amateur. Currently second on the English Women’s Order of Merit.

Jake Burnage, 23, (Saunton, Devon) – third in the South Beach international in Miami at the end of last year, before competing in Australia. Past winner of the Walton Heath Trophy.

Bailey Gill, 21, (Lindrick, Yorkshire) was fifth in this year’s Portuguese Amateur, having represented England on a tour of Australia in the New Year, following a successful 2018 season.

Lily May Humphreys, 17, (Stoke by Nayland, Essex) – Curtis Cup player who was crowned 2018 Scottish Women’s Open champion. Played in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and was fifth in the 2019 Italian Open.

Ben Hutchinson, 23, (Howley Hall, Yorkshire) – Finished 10^th in last weekend’s Hampshire Salver. Quarter finalist in March’s Spanish Amateur. Reached last 16 at 2018 Amateur Championship.

Ben Jones, 19, (Northamptonshire County) – Semi-finalist in NSW Amateur in Australia in February. Reached matchplay stages of Spanish Amateur and joint runner-up in the 2018 Portuguese Amateur.

Tom Plumb, 20, (Yeovil, Somerset) – Won the Cape Province Open in March and third in January’s South American Amateur in Chile.

Tom Sloman, 22, (Taunton & Pickeridge, Somerset) – Individual winner at European Nations Cup at Sotogrande. Reached last 16 in 2019 Australian Amateur and runner-up in 2018 Welsh Open. Highest ranked Englishman at No. 32 in OWGR.

Emily Toy, 21, (Carlyon Bay, Cornwall) – Won Women’s New South Wales Strokeplay and fifth in Avondale Amateur Down Under in January. Shared fourth place in 2018 English Women’s Amateur.

Bel Wardle, 19, (Prestbury, Cheshire) – Leads English Women’s Order of Merit, after finishing fourth as defending champion in Portuguese Amateur. Quarter-finalist in the Spanish Amateur and won Comboy Scratch Trophy.

Essex’s Lily May Humphreys who was invited to play at Augusta National’s Women’s Amateur this month and will now play for England at Formby

•For full results from the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande click here.

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