ENGLISH CHAMPION MCGOWAN IN ENGLAND PARTY FOR EUROPEAN AMATEUR
New English Champion Ross McGowan is one of 18 players the
English Golf Union is sending to Italy to contest the European
International Amateur Championship at Biella Golf Club, near
Turin, on 23rd - 26th August.
The party includes contains all but two members of the Elite
squad and nine players who will represent England in next
month’s Home Internationals in Wales.
The full group is: Matthew Baldwin (Royal Birkdale), Seve
Benson (Wentworth), Gary Boyd (Cherwell Edge), Luke Collins
(Mendip Spring), Matthew Cryer (Coventry), Ben Evans (Rye),
Adam Gee (Leatherhead), David Horsey (Styal), Stephen Lewton
(Woburn), Ross McGowan (Banstead Downs), James Morrison (St
George’s Hill), Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland), Ben Parker
(Royal Birkdale), John Parry (Harrogate), Ed Richardson (Southern
Valley), James Ruth (Tavistock), Paul Waring (Bromborough),
and Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs).
McGowan (pictured left - photo courtesy of Tom Ward) was in
top form in defeating Oliver Fisher 5 & 4 over 36 holes
to win the English Championship at Burnham and Berrow and
will now seek another major title, while Fisher is in America
bidding for the US Amateur.
Cryer and Moul were semi-finalists at Burnham and Berrow while
Boyd, Gee and Parker reached the quarter finals.
Five of the squad were in the England team that finished third
in the recent European Youths Team Championships in Spain
and most can boast a string of successes in the past year.
Benson won the Russian Amateur Championship a few weeks ago,
Boyd was a semi-finalist in the Spanish Amateur, and Cryer
was runner-up to Benson in Russia and joint second in last
year’s European Amateur in Belgium. Collins reached
the quarter finals of this year’s Spanish Amateur Championship
and finished in joint fourth place at the Russian Amateur.
Evans won the Sunningdale Foursomes back in March and was
third in the recent South of England Stroke Play, Gee won
the Lake Macquarie in Australia earlier this year, was runner-up
in the Amateur Championship and joint runner-up in the West
of England Stroke Play, while Horsey won the West of England
and the North of England Youth titles.
Besides winning the English title, McGowan has had five runners-up
finishes including the Brabazon Trophy and the South of England
Stroke Play, Morrison was runner-up in the Sunningdale Foursomes
and the Midland Open Amateur, Moul won the Lytham Trophy and
was a semi-finalist in the Amateur Championship, while Parker
won the Junior Orange Bowl in America last Christmas and the
Tasmanian Amateur.
Richardson won the Midland Open Amateur, Ruth finished third
in the Duncan Putter, Waring, last year’s English champion,
was runner-up in the West of England, while Wolstenholme,
England’s most capped player, has added to his vast
array of titles with the European Mid Amateur, the South of
England Stroke Play and the St Mellion International this
year.
The last Englishman to win the European Amateur title was
Matthew Richardson in Sweden two years ago. That win ended
a 13 year wait, the previous English winner being Jim Payne
in 1991.
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