England name Mcgregor Trophy Nations Cup teams
Six of England’s most talented youngsters have been
selected to compete for the Nations Cup as part of the English
Boys Under 16 Open Stroke Play Championship for the McGregor
Trophy at Worthing Golf Club, Sussex, on 5th - 6th July.
One three-man team will consist of Tommy Fleetwood (Formby
Hall), Adam Myers (Northants County) and Darren Renwick (Worthing),
and the other will comprise Tom Berry (Wentworth), Bill Downing
(Truro) and Eddie Pepperell (Frilford Heath). The reserve
is Eamonn Hodgson (Sunningdale). All six are members of the
England under 16 training squad and some have already been
capped at under 16 level.
Last year, Fleetwood, 15, finished runner-up in the McGregor
Trophy, won the Lancashire boys under 15 title and played
in the under 16 matches against Scotland and England Girls.
 Myers
(pictured - photo courtesy of Tom Ward), 15, is the reigning
English under 16 champion, who also finished fourth in the
under 14 Championship. The Northamptonshire lad also played
against the Scots, Spain and the English Girls.
Renwick, 16, from the host club, has been capped at under
16 level for the past two years and enjoyed a successful 2005,
winning the Scottish under 16 title and the Douglas Johns
Trophy.
Berry, 15, finished runner-up in the English under 14 Championship
last year but won the Surrey under 14 title, while Downing,
14, from Cornwall, finished runner-up in the 2003 English
under 14 Championship when aged 11, and fourth in last year’s
McGregor Trophy.
Pepperell, 15, is the current English under 14 champion and
the BB&O under 14 title-holder.
A total of 15 teams from the Home Countries and Europe will
compete in the Nations Cup over the first 36 holes of the
McGregor Trophy and will be decided by the aggregate of the
best two from three scores each round. In the event of a tie
the Cup will be shared. The Netherlands are the holders following
their victory at Radcliffe on Trent a year ago.
In the McGregor Trophy itself, Myers faces stiff opposition
if he is to retain the title, not least from his Nations Cup
colleagues. Fleetwood led last year’s championship until
the final stages and finished second, while Downing was joint
fourth.
Tom Lewis, 15, from Hertfordshire could also have a say.
Seventh last year, he was third in the under 14 Championship
and joint winner of the Hazards Trophy in last year’s
under 18 Championship.
Past winners of the under 16 title include Jim Payne, Steve
Webster, Graeme Storm and Justin Rose, who all went on to
successful professional careers, while more recent champions
have been internationals James Heath, Michael Skelton, Paul
Waring, Matthew Baldwin and Oliver Fisher, who won the St
Andrews Links Trophy at the weekend.
A total of 184 entries were received for 132 places. Those
players with handicaps of five were balloted out, while 12
with handicaps of four are on the reserve list.
The title has also been won by non-British players on three
occasions, by Eduardo Molinari in 1996, by his fellow Italian
Roberto Paolillo in 1997 and by Wouter de Vries from the Netherlands
in 2003.
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