SLATER FACES TOUGH DEFENCE OF CARRIS TROPHY
Cornwall’s Grant Slater will defend the title alone
when the English Boys’ Open Stroke Play Championship
is played over 72 holes at Northumberland Golf Club, near
Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 20-22 July.
Slater, 17, from the Carlyon Bay club, finished the Championship
tied with Daniel Denison from Yorkshire when the Carris Trophy
was played at Burnham & Berrow a year ago, the first time
in the 68-year history of the event that the title had been
shared.
However, Denison is now beyond the age limit required to
compete so Slater will hope to make a successful defence of
the crown he and Denison collected after finishing on two
over par 286 this time last year.
He will face stiff opposition, not least from several players
who chased Slater and Denison home, namely fellow Cornishman
Alex MacGregor (Killiow), who finished third a shot behind,
and Graham Benson (Leighton Buzzard), as well as crack Spanish
amateur Pablo Martin.
Once again the tournament has attracted one of the best fields
ever assembled for this popular event. Virtually every member
of the England School of Excellence is in the 132-strong international
line-up, which also includes players from Belgium, Finland,
Germany, Italy, Holland, Norway, Qatar, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland and Zimbabwe.
Included in a strong English contingent is Oliver Fisher
(West Essex), 15, who will be hoping to add the under-18 title
to the under-16 championship he won so impressively at Dudsbury
recently.
Fisher is currently competing in the European Boys Team Championships,
while his five team-mates in Finland, Lawrence Allen (Brookmans
Park), Matthew Baldwin (Hesketh), the newly appointed England
Boys captain, Ben Evans (Rye), Ben Parker (Gut Waldhof) and
John Parry (Harrogate) are also in the Carris field.
Parry won the McEvoy Trophy in April ahead of Fisher, who
prior to his under 16 McGregor Trophy success had also become
the youngest winner of the Essex Championship, while Baldwin
is the Lancashire champion, having finished sixth in the Brabazon
Trophy at West Lancs in May.
Three members of the England team that beat Italy in the
recent under 16 international at Dudsbury, Adam Hutchinson
(Dore & Totley), Tom Oliver (Notts) and Dale Smith (Saltburn)
are also competing, as is boy cap Gary Boyd (Northants County)
Local interest is likely to centre on Michael Burrow from
Morpeth, Chris Paisley from Stocksfield, and Hexham’s
Philip Waugh, while Paul Oakley (Billingham) and Tom Robinson
(Middlesbrough) are also entered.
Of the 132-strong field, which will be reduced to the leading
45 and ties after 36 holes, 77 have a handicap of scratch
or better. Martin from Spain and Swiss teenager Claudio Blaesi
have the lowest handicaps of plus three, while there are eight
players off plus two including Baldwin, Fisher, Parker and
Parry.
A total of 244 entries were received and in order to reduce
this number to the required 122 competitors - the leading
ten players from the McGregor Trophy gaining automatic entry
- a ballot was held which resulted in the 2, 3, 4 and 5 handicaps
being omitted. A further ballot was held among the 81 entrants
with a handicap of one with 46 gaining places and the remaining
35 being retained on a reserve list.
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