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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Justin Rose won the McGregor and Carris trophies in 1995

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gough one of three to win men’s and U16s

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

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

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

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

Only three juniors have won the Reid and McGregor Trophy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quartet of Carris winners played Ryder Cup

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

Ken Brown – Picture: WOJCIECH MIGDA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Schmidt became youngest winner of Carris and Brabazon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post Reid and McGregor Trophy both cancelled by England Golf but Carris is still on 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.

The post Woodhall Spa to host both English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships appeared first on Golf North.

Scotland’s Paul Lawrie will captain the European team at the 2020 Junior Ryder Cup at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, in Wisconsin four days before the Ryder Cup starts. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

PAUL Lawrie, the 1999 Open Champion and two-time Ryder Cup player, will captain Europe at the 2020 Junior Ryder Cup, which will take place at Wisconsin’s Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Milwaukee.

The Scotsman, an eight-time European Tour winner, represented Europe at the 1999 Ryder Cup and will now lead Europe’s best juniors against their American counterparts in September.

Lawrie was also a member of the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ team, which staged a monumental comeback on the final day in 2012 to retain the Ryder Cup winning 14½-13½ on American soil.

The 50-year-old’s involvement in junior golf started in 2001 with the launch of the Paul Lawrie Foundation.

It provides opportunities for juniors to start playing golf. Its main goal is to encourage as many young people to play golf as possible.

The Junior Ryder Cup, held in the days before the Ryder Cup, sees the best male and female junior amateurs from Europe and the USA go head-to-head in a mixed event.

The biennial contest has seen many stars from world golf feature in the junior competition before excelling at the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup.

Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy both succeeded in the event before also winning the Ryder Cup, while Suzanne Peterson and Carlota Ciganda triumphed as amateurs before lifting the Solheim Cup.

“As soon as the call came in, I didn’t need long to think about taking on the role,” said Lawrie.

“To be able to lead a team of the best juniors in Europe against America will be a completely novel experience for me. In terms of how I see the game growing, it’s an important role.

“It’s going to be full-on over the next 10 months. I’m really looking forward to getting to some events during the year and watching the kids play.

“I’m absolutely delighted that I have been asked to captain the Junior Ryder Cup team.

“My wife, Marian, and I started the foundation to get as many kids into the game as we possibly could.

“I bring a huge enthusiasm for junior golf to the role. It’s where the game needs to be – sadly that still gets lost on some members at golf clubs not treating juniors how they deserve to be treated.

“Today’s juniors are tomorrow’s adults, and that’s an important message,” added Lawrie, who was one of Darren Clarke’s vice-captains at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine.

Paul Lawrie who helped Europe come back from 10-6 down in the Sunday singles at the 2012 Ryder Cup in the Miracle of Medinah. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

Lawrie earned three-and-a-half points for the European cause in the infamous “Battle of Brookline,” with two-and-a-half points coming from his partnership with Colin Montgomerie.

He also defeated Jeff Maggert in the Sunday singles as America – captained by Ben Crenshaw – staged remarkable final day comeback.

The event was marred by the US players and supporters in the gallery inside the ropes surging on to the 17th green after Justin Leonard holed a long range putt before Jose Maria Olazabal had finished the hole.

The incident in Massachusetts combined with a hostile crowd that targeted the European team – and Colin Montgomerie in particular on Sunday – sparked further controversies when European captain Mark James published his account in Into the Bearpit.

Lawrie then earned his place in The 2012 Ryder Cup side at Medinah, winning Europe’s second point on Sunday, defeating Brandt Snedeker 5&3, as he and his teammates battled back from a 10-6 deficit to win the biennial contest 14½-13½.

Both the European and United States Junior Ryder Cup teams will feature six boys and six girls, who must not have turned 18 before January 1, 2020 – and must not be enrolled to play college golf in the USA during that year.

American stars to have featured in the Junior Ryder Cup include Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare.

In 2018, at Golf Disneyland Paris, Europe narrowly missed out on a first victory since 2006, as Team USA triumphed 12½-11½.

The hosts included Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgard, who are already playing on the Challenge and European Tours repsectively in 2020, and Stoke Park’s Conor Gough, who was crowned English Amateur Champion in August, at the age of just 16.

Surrey’s Annabel Fuller was also on the 2018 team, while Wentworth’s Annabel Dimmock, played in 2014 – and claimed her first Ladies European Tour victory this summer.

The selection process for the 2020 European Junior Ryder Cup team, including confirmation of qualifying events from The R&A and European Golf Association’s schedule for next year, will be announced shortly.

The match takes place at Blue Mound G&CC, from September 21-22, while the 2020 Ryder Cup takes place four days later at Whistling Straits some 70 miles away, from September 25-27.

•For more information about the 2020 Ryder Cup click here.

The post Paul Lawrie agrees captaincy of European team at Junior Ryder Cup in Milwaukee appeared first on Golf North.

ENGLAND have won the R&A Boys’ Home Internationals for the fourth year running after defeating Ireland 8-7 in a nail-biting title decider at Ashburnham Golf Club.

For the second straight year, England triumphed at the expense of its Irish counterparts in a tense contest at the South Wales links course.

The match was almost a carbon copy of last year at Royal Dornoch. England won the deciding match by the identical score of 8-7 but, as with 12 months ago, it could have easily gone to the Irish.

England staged a remarkable comeback after losing the first morning foursomes session in three days of competition.

The Irish took a two-point lead into the 10 afternoon singles after winning the foursomes 3½-1½ – and looked like winning the trophy for the first time since 2013.

The early projections in the afternoon were Ireland would go on to win 8-7.But England slowly turned the tables on a strong Ireland team with good victories in the first seven matches.

They won five of those matches to get in front and it was an edge they would never relinquish.

Stoke Park’s World No. 2 Conor Gough led his side in the first singles matches and the B.B.&O. teeanger gained a half against Tom McKibbin.

Conor Gough, winner of last week’s English Amateur at Hankley Common, earned England a vital half against Ireland’s Tom McKibbin, in the Boys’ Home Internatinals, at Ashburnham.
Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

That result took the score to 4-2. USA-based Joe Pagdin and Peterborough Milton’s Robin Williams quickly evened the score at 4-4 with respective victories over Luke O’Neill and Aaron Marshal.

Ireland’s Joshua Hill hit back with a 5&4 victory over Hallamshire’s Barclay Brown to put Ireland ahead.

Hill deserves special mention as the reigning McGregor Trophy champion was the only player over the three days to win six points out of six.

England’s Max Hopkins, from Bishop’s Stortford, in Hertfordshire, wasn’t far behind, winning five and a half out of a possible six points.

Hill’s brilliant play couldn’t stop the English comeback though. The trio of Hopkins, Enrique Dimayuga, from Walton Heath, and Ipswich’s Habebul Islam put three further points on the board

That took their side to seven points and within reach of a fourth straight title win.

Islam’s match proved key to England’s success. He held a one-hole lead against Simon Walker playing the last and looked like he might lose the hole when he hit his second shot close to the out-of-bounds line on the left.

Suffolk’s Habebul Islam made a superb up-and-down on the last to beat ireland’s Simon Walker to set up the deciding match in England’s favour at Ashburnham GC. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

He then made the up and down of his young life, pitching the ball from 80 yards to four feet and holing the subsequent putt for par after Walker had missed his 20-foot birdie putt.

Cue delight from the English players watching Islam playing the 18^th. That point set up Callum Macfie to deliver the coup de grace.

The Lindrick teenager duly did so by birdieing the 17^th hole to defeat Max Kennedy 2&1 and ensure England retained the trophy for yet another year.

England captain Stephen Burnett said: “Even though we lost the foursomes this morning, I just felt that we could get six points out of the singles and that would do the job.

“We’ve got a very strong team and I knew they might just be stronger over the closing nine holes when the conditions got a little tougher.

“The wind picked up and the back nine played harder and the boys showed their talent by turning matches around that Ireland could’ve won.

“We got a lot of good performances. I thought Conor’s half point in the first match was important to get us off to a good start.

“Habebul’s par at the 18^th when he got up and down from 80 yards was crucial because it set up Callum to take us over the line, which he did.

“I’m over the moon,” Burnett added.

His Irish counterpart Alasdair Gibson was proud of his players despite coming up short for teh second year in a row.

Gibson said: “For the second year in a row we’ve just came up short. That’s golf. The first nine holes of the singles we were looking okay and it just turned around a bit.

“We were always struggling in matches there on the back nine. We did very well this morning in the foursomes. The boys played very well.

“The golf this afternoon was very good. There were a lot of birdies out there and at the end of the day they got more than we did.

“It was good effort but we just came up short. There’s no shame in losing to a strong team like England.”

Scotland and Wales finally got some joy in the foursomes after difficult results in the first two days.

They split the session 2½-2½ to set up an intriguing singles contest in the match for third place. Scotland won the session 6½-3½ to beat the Welsh 9-6 to finish third.

For full match results over the three days click here.

COVER IMAGE: England after winning the R&A Boys’ Home Internationals four a fourth year in a row by defeating Ireland at Ashburnham GC, on Thursday. Picture by THE R&A / GETTY IMAGES

The post England make it four Boys’ Home International titles out of four with win over Ireland appeared first on Golf North.

STOKE Park’s Conor Gough produced a sparkling performance to win the English Men’s Amateur Championship at Surrey’s Hankley Common, on Sunday.

The 16-year-old – who claimed the British Boys title a year ago – beat 20-year-old Callum Farr, from Northamptonshire County, 3&2 in the final.

The title adds to the McGregor Trophy he won last year – and dropped a heavy hint to the Walker Cup selectors, who left him out of their 16-man squad in July less than six months after including him in a 29-strong group.

And in winning his national championship Gough became the second youngest-ever winner of the English crown – just missing out on breaking Harry Ellis’ record by four days, after the Meon Valley G&CC teenager broke Sir Nick Faldo’s record in 2012, 37 years after it was set by Hertfordshire’s then 18-year-old future Masters winner.

Gough – who celebrates his 17th birthday in September – spent much of the early part of the season studying for his GCSEs but clearly the enforced break has had no detrimental effect on his golf.

He began the morning round of the final by hitting a 350-yard drive down the first and then holing out from 12-feet for a birdie and seven holes later he was three up after a birdie on the sixth and an eagle on the eighth.

Farr claimed his first hole of the day when he birdied from just off the front of the green at the 10^th but he could never quite reel in his opponent and he was four down heading into lunch before he won the 18^th with a par.

Farr started the second round strongly by winning the first with a birdie and the second with a par.

But last year’s Selborne Salver winner found himself three down again after dropping shots at both the fourth and fifth.

The pair then shared eight birdies between them before Gough sealed victory with a testing four-foot downhill putt for a par on the short 16^th.

“It feels great to win,” said Gough moments after holing the winning putt. “I played really well. I love matchplay and as soon as I got through the strokeplay qualifier I knew I had a good chance.

“I’m proud of myself. I’ve got a couple of big weeks coming up so I hope I can keep things going.

“I’ve got the Boys’ Home Internationals next week and then the US Amateur Championship at Pinehurst.

“I’m really looking forward to that. It’s the same format as this so hopefully I can put in another good performance.”

It was impossible not to feel for England A squad member Farr, who has now reached the last four and the last two in the past two years without tasting success.

“I hit the ball better this afternoon but just couldn’t get the putts to drop,” Farr said. “I’m disappointed, but Conor is a very good player and he deserved to win because he played a lot better than me.

“I got to the semi-final last year and now the final so maybe next year will be my year,” Farr added.

Burnage beaten by Gough in semis

In Saturday’s semi-finals, Saunton’s Jake Burnage – who was looking to cement his own Walker Cup place by adding the English Amateur title to the St Andrews Links Trophy he claimed in early June – lost 4&3 to Gough.

Burnage, who won three times in 2017 to make a late bid to earn Walker Cup selection from virtually nowhere, had beaten The Buckinghamshire’s Will Shackleton 5&4 in the fourth round.

The Devon man then raced into the last four winning by the same margin against Sussex’s Jack Floydd, from Haywards Heath GC, who has been playing on the Alps and MENA Tours this year as an amateur.

Gough had ended Essex’s Curtis Knipes’ hopes of emulating Todd Clements – the 2017 winner – beating the Chelmsford player – who qualified for The Open at Royal Portrush last month – by 3&2.

In the other half of the draw Farr ended the dreams of another Essex hopeful beating Bradley Bawden – who played NCJAA for the University of Memphis’ Tigers team for two years after two years at Eastern Florida State – by 2&1.

That followed a 4&3 win over Walton Heath’s England Boys cap Enrique Dimayuga, who clearly felt at home on another of Surrey’s finest heathland courses, in the quarter-final.

Bawden had beaten recent Tillman Trophy winner Joe Harvey, from Gloucesterdshire’s Kendleshire GC, 2&1 to book his place in the last four.

The post Conor Gough takes English Amateur crown and sends out Walker Cup message appeared first on Golf North.

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

The post Gough is youngest named in Walker Cup squad at 16 appeared first on Golf North.