FISHER SEEKS TO GO ONE BETTER AT DUDSBURY
Oliver Fisher, the talented 15 year old from Essex, will
arguably start as favourite when the English Boys’ Under-16
Stroke Play Championship for the McGregor Trophy is played
at Dudsbury Golf Club on 30th June - 2nd July.
Fisher has already gathered a string of successes in his
burgeoning career including finishing runner-up in this event
at Rotherham a year ago as well as in the McEvoy Trophy at
Copt Heath in April. However, he secured the Lagonda Trophy
at Gog Magog last month, the youngest winner of the event.
Added to those high-ranking performances, the six-footer
from West Essex has, over the past year, won the Essex Boys
Championship with a course record 65 at Benton Hall, carried
off the Douglas Johns Trophy at Harewood Downs, won the Faldo
Series at Brocket Hall and represented England at under 16
level against Scotland.
A member of England’s School of Excellence, Fisher
was pipped by Dutch lad Wouter de Vries for the McGregor last
year and would have won the McEvoy but for four brilliant
rounds of 68 from Yorkshire’s John Parry.
It was only a matter of time before he landed a top title
and he triumphed in the Lagonda with closing rounds of 66
and 65.
And last weekend he completed another significant success
by winning the Essex Championship at Abridge GC after a play-off.
But Fisher will face strong opposition at Dudsbury, especially
as there will be youngsters from eight different nationalities
seeking the coveted title.
The event provides a step-up for those players successful
in the previous year’s Under 14 Championship and that
is no exception this time. Jack Brooks, from Blackburn, the
current holder of the Reid Trophy, is in the field as is runner-up
Billy Downing from Truro.
In fact, the leading half dozen from last year’s Reid
Trophy at Porters Park are competing as well as several under
16 internationals, including Adam Hodkinson (Dore & Totley),
Tony Mitchell (Redborne), Tom Oliver (Notts), and Dale Smith
(Saltburn), who will represent England against Italy at Dudsbury
on the eve of the McGregor event.
This will be the first time the Championship has been played
in Dorset and once again there is a keen overseas challenge
with players from Spain, Finland, Holland, Belgium and Italy
plus Scotland and Wales.
A total of 244 entries were received for 132 places. Those
players with handicaps of five or higher were balloted out.
A glance at the names of past winners of the McGregor show
that several have gone on to greater things, such as Jim Payne,
winner in 1986 and ’87, Steve Webster in 1992, and Justin
Rose in 1995, and more recently James Heath in 1999 and Walker
Cup man Michael Skelton in 2000.
|