FOUR NEWCOMERS PROMOTED TO EGU ELITE SQUAD
The English Golf Union (EGU) has taken the opportunity to
review the make-up of its Elite Squad for 2005 following the
indications of James Heath and Sam Osborne to turn professional.
Four newcomers have been included in the ten-member squad.
They are Matthew Baldwin from Lancashire, Suffolk’s
Lawrence Dodd, Adam Gee from Surrey and Devon’s James
Ruth. The balance of the squad is Lee Corfield, Gary Lockerbie,
Matthew Richardson, Michael Skelton, Paul Waring and Gary
Wolstenholme.
Nigel Furniss, Performance Director for the EGU commented
“Whilst we will miss Sam and James we wish them every
success in the professional game. Both have exceptional talent
and we are pleased to have been able to enhance their development
through the World Class Performance programme”.
Baldwin, 18, is the current England boy’s captain and
led his teams to victory in the European Boys Team Championships
in Finland as well as the Boys Home Internationals this year.
He is the current Lancashire champion, finished third in
the Carris Trophy and is a former winner of the English under
16 Championship for the McGregor Trophy. He is also a member
of the 2005 Walker Cup squad.
Dodd, 21, now playing out of Thetford, made his full England
debut in September’s Home Internationals at Prestwick.
A former Suffolk champion, he won the Greek Amateur Championship
last year and was included in the England A Squad.
This year, Dodd has finished runner-up in both the West of
England Stroke Play Championship and in the Peugeot Classic
in France where he helped win the Nations Cup for England.
He also represented England in the European Youths Team Championships
in Ireland as well as reaching the quarter finals of the English
Amateur where he was beaten by Gary Wolstenholme.
Gee, 24, made his full England debut against France at Royal
St George’s in May, having reached the match play stages
of the Spanish Amateur Championship and the semi-finals of
the Portuguese Amateur a few weeks before.
In September, he was a member of the victorious England team
in the Home Internationals and scored three-and-a-half points
in helping Surrey win the English County Finals at Worksop.
Ruth’s promotion to the Elite Squad follows a successful
year in which he made his full England debut against France
at Royal St George’s in May. He also won the Berkhamsted
Trophy, helped his club, Tavistock, win the English Champion
Club title and played for Devon in the County Finals at Worksop.
Ruth, who will turn 20 in January, has been on the international
scene since 2000 when he was capped by England at under 16
level. He represented England in the World Boys Team Championships
in Japan in 2003 and made his debut as a boy international
in the European Boys Team Championships in the Czech Republic.
This year he played in the winning Boys Home Internationals
team in Wales and is a former winner of the South West Boys
Championship.
The remaining players in the Elite Squad line up are all
members of the 2005 Walker Cup squad.
Corfield, 22, earned his first full England cap in the 2002
Home Internationals and finished runner-up in the Amateur
Championship at St Andrews in June.
Lockerbie, 22, was English champion in 2003 and has been
a member of the full England team since. He finished runner-up
to Matthew Richardson in the International European Amateur
Championship in Sweden in August.
The European title has been 19-year-old Richardson’s
finest achievement and contributed to a highly successful
year in which he also won the Brabazon Trophy and was a member
of the Eisenhower Trophy team.
Skelton, 20, has been capped at every level since 1999, is
a former winner of the McGregor Trophy and the Welsh Open
Amateur and was a member of the victorious Walker Cup team
last year.
Waring, 19, is a former England boy captain and another with
great international experience. A former McGregor Trophy winner,
he finished runner-up in the Duncan Putter at Southerndown
this year before being selected to represent England in September’s
Home Internationals.
Wolstenholme is England’s most capped player and at
44 is still a major force in amateur golf. Has played in five
Walker Cups, four on the winning side, and four Eisenhower
Trophies.
Furniss continued, “It is important to understand that
the Elite Squad is continually under review and is not a closed
shop. We welcome Matthew, Lawrence, Adam and James and look
forward to helping them develop their performance to the highest
level possible through our detailed training programme and
initiatives.”
The ten Elite Squad players are:
Matthew Baldwin (Hesketh)
Lee Corfield (Burnham & Berrow)
Lawrence Dodd (Thetford)
Adam Gee (Leatherhead)
Gary Lockerbie (Penrith)
Matthew Richardson (The Buckinghamshire)
James Ruth (Tavistock)
Michael Skelton (Middlesbrough)
Paul Waring (Bromborough)
Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs)
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