WALKER CUP HOPEFULS SET SIGHTS ON BRABAZON TROPHY
Nineteen members of the squad from which the 2005 Walker
Cup team will be selected are among an entry of 406, the second
highest on record, for the Brabazon Trophy being played at
The Oxfordshire Golf Club on 13th - 15th May.
Victory for one of that number would boost his chances of
a place in the team that will defend the Walker Cup in Chicago
in August.
One with such a quest is Matthew Richardson, the defending
champion, who took the title in style a year ago at West Lancashire
when he held off England teammate Sam Osborne, now a professional.
Richardson, 20, from Middlesex, also the reigning European
champion, has the Walker Cup in his sights and knows that
last year’s Brabazon was one of the best weeks of his
year.
"The Brabazon and the European Amateur plus the Home
Internationals were good weeks but the rest was pretty scrappy,"
he said.
Richardson continued, "I’m really looking forward
to defending the Brabazon. I know the Oxfordshire course well.
We had regional coaching there and I like the layout. Whoever
wins there will be a true champion. I feel I’m in better
shape than when I won last year and I’d really like
to retain the title. It would set me off for the rest of the
season when the key is the Walker Cup."
Richardson knows it will be difficult to hold on to his crown,
especially with so many of his fellow Walker Cup squad members
in the field.
Only the Irish, who have a conflicting event, will not be
at The Oxfordshire but the other top British players will
be on view including Richardson’s England teammates
Matthew Baldwin, Lee Corfield, Gary Lockerbie, Michael Skelton,
Paul Waring and Gary Wolstenholme.
The Scots will be well represented by Andrew McArthur, Jamie
McLeary, George Murray, Paul O’Hara, Richard Ramsay,
Lloyd Saltman and Gareth Wright, while Nigel Edwards, Zac
Gould and James Williams will carry the Welsh Dragon.
No one will be trying harder to land the trophy than Wolstenholme.
The Brabazon has always proved elusive for the 44-year-old
from Leicestershire and he would dearly love to land it after
many years of trying. His late father, Guy, won at Ganton
in 1960 but despite his many triumphs including five Walker
Cups, Gary’s best Brabazon finish is joint third behind
Spain’s Ignacio Garrido at Hollinwell in 1992. However,
with two 2005 victories under his belt already, perhaps this
is his year.
The quality of the field is further enhanced by the inclusion
of a bevy of boy caps, including every member of England’s
winning Boys Home Internationals team from last August in
Ireland.
The Brabazon title has gone abroad three times in the last
seven years and there is again a strong foreign entry, especially
from France, the Netherlands and Spain.
Reinforcing the foreign entry are players from other European
countries including Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Portugal
and Slovenia. There are also entries from The United States
and South Africa, including Adrian Schwartzel, brother of
Charl, who won the Brabazon at Deal in 2002.
A total of 76 players are exempt to the competition proper
starting on Friday 13th May at 7am, while a further 240 will
enter the qualifying rounds on 11th and 12th May with the
leading 32 and ties from each day going through to the main
72-hole competition.
The quality of the field, all off scratch or better, and
the near record number of entries not only underlines the
importance of the event but also the reputation and challenge
of the Rees Jones-designed Oxfordshire course that has staged
several top professional tournaments in recent years including
the Benson & Hedges International on the European Tour
and the Mobile Cup on the European Seniors Tour.
For those who want to see Matthew Richardson defending his
title, entrance to the Brabazon Trophy is free of charge and
directions to the Oxfordshire can be found at their website
www.theoxfordshiregolfclub.com.
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