ENGLAND NAME STRONG SQUAD FOR EUROPEAN YOUTHS CHAMPIONSHIPS
James Heath, impressive winner of the Lytham Trophy last
month, Brabazon Trophy champion Matthew Richardson, and Walker
Cup choice Michael Skelton have been selected in a strong
England squad for the European Youths Team Championships in
Ireland next month.
The Championships, being staged at The Island Golf Club near
Dublin from 6-10 July, sees England name another full international
in Jamie Moul, with his Suffolk compatriot Lawrence Dodd and
Paul Waring from Cheshire completing the team.
Heath, 21, rewrote the record books at Royal Lytham when
he finished on 18 under par 266, a score that would have won
an Open Championship over the Lancashire course, to take the
trophy by eight strokes.
The Surrey youngster is enjoying a successful year. He was
a member of the England Squad that travelled to Puerto Rico
in preparation for the Eisenhower Trophy in October, helped
England to the runners-up spot in the Costa Ballena Quadrangular
match in Spain, represented Europe v Asia Pacific in Rome
and was capped against France at Royal St George‘s in
May.
A former under 16 and boy international and winner of the
McGregor Trophy and of the Greek Amateur, he was capped by
GB&I at boy level in 2001 and reached the semi-finals
of the British Boys that same year at Ganton. In 2002 he finished
runner-up in the European Amateur Championship in Portugal.
Richardson, an impressive winner of the Brabazon Trophy at
West Lancs last month where he won a head-to-head battle with
his international teammate Sam Osborne, is a member of England’s
Elite squad. Having been capped at boys level two years ago,
he made his full debut against Spain at Lindrick last year.
The 19 year old is a former winner of the individual title
at the World Boys Team Championships in Japan and also played
in the European Boys’ Team Championships and the Boys
Home Internationals. He was also a semi-finalist in the British
Boys’ Championship at Carnoustie in 2002.
A quarter finalist in the Spanish and Portuguese Amateur
Championships in 2003, this year he has represented England
in Australia, South Africa, Spain, and the United States.
He recently finished runner-up in the Middlesex Championship.
Skelton, 20, enjoyed a highly successful 2003 in which he
won the Welsh Open Amateur and finished runner-up in the English
Championship, two performances that heralded a full England
debut in the Home Internationals.
Before that he earned a call-up for the Walker Cup team at
Ganton last September and helped GB&I win the trophy for
the third successive time. He is a member of the Walker Cup
squad for next year’s matches in Chicago as well as
a member of the England Elite squad.
With Gary Lockerbie he won the Tailhade Cup in Argentina
in November and was a member of the England team that won
the Sherry Cup in Spain earlier this year and was also called
up for the international with France at Royal St George’s
last month.
Moul, 19, made his full international debut against the French
after being a reserve for last year's Home Internationals.
A former under 16 and boy cap, who played in the European
Boys Team Championships and the Boys Home Internationals,
he also represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy
where he was unbeaten.
Moul moved into the England Elite Squad last autumn and also
earned a place in the Walker Cup squad from which next year’s
team will be selected. Before facing the French, he had been
to South Africa and Puerto Rico this year on England training
and to the United States for the Hall of Fame tournament.
His Suffolk colleague Dodd, 20, won the Greek Amateur Championship
on his first foreign assignment last year and he has made
continued progressed this season, finishing runner-up in the
West of England Stroke Play Championship.
Recently, he finished second in the Peugeot Classic in France
and along with James Smith and Waring, won the Nations Cup
for England.
Waring, last year’s England boy captain, played in
the World Boys Team Championships in Japan as well as the
European Boys Team Championships, the Boys Home Internationals
and the Jacques Leglise Trophy.
The 19 year old from Cheshire recently finished runner-up
in the Duncan Putter in Wales and third in the West of England
Championship before winning the individual title in the Peugeot
Classic.
England won the European title in Scotland four years ago
but finished runners-up to Sweden in the 2002 Championships
in Poland.
The team will meet for a two-day training camp at the National
Golf Centre, Woodhall Spa prior to departure to Ireland. The
camp will be structured to prepare the players for the championship
and will be led by National Coach Keith Williams, with Gary
Smith (Technical Coach), Paul Darby (Physiotherapist) and
Brian Hemmings (Psychologist) in support.
The complete team is: Lawrence Dodd (Thetford),
James Heath (Coombe Wood), Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland),
Matthew Richardson (The Buckinghamshire), Michael Skelton
(Middlesbrough), and Paul Waring (Bromborough). The reserve
is James Ruth (Tavistock).
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