SIX NEWCOMERS IN EGU ELITE SQUAD
There are six newcomers in the latest review of Elite Squad
players released by the English Golf Union. They are Seve
Benson, Gary Boyd, Oliver Fisher, Stephen Lewton, Ross McGowan
and Ben Parker.
The rest of the 12-strong squad is: Matthew Cryer, David
Horsey, Jamie Moul, Ed Richardson, Paul Waring and Gary Wolstenholme.
Benson, Boyd and McGowan have been promoted from last year’s
A Squad, while Lewton and Parker have not previously been
included in any senior squad. Oliver Fisher joins the squad
after completing his Talented Athlete Scholarship funding
throughout 2006.
Boyd, Lewton, McGowan and Parker made their full England
debuts in last month’s Home Internationals in Wales,
while Benson has enjoyed a successful season culminating in
victory in the Russian Amateur Championship.
Boyd, 20, who has now been capped at every level, reached
the semi-finals of the Spanish Amateur and the quarterfinals
of the English Amateur and was a member of the team that finished
third in the European Youths Team Championships.
Lewton and McGowan, 23 and 24 respectively, are both graduates
from college in the United States. McGowan has topped the
PING/EGU Order of Merit this year after five runners-up places
and victory in the English Amateur at Burnham and Berrow.
Parker, 19, helped England win the Boys Home Internationals
and European Boys Team Championships in recent years and is
a former winner of the European Young Masters. He also won
the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl in America last Christmas.
The rest of the squad were Elite members this year and are
all seasoned internationals, while the average age of the
squad is 26.
“The Elite Squad is targeted to include 10-12 players
with the ability to play for England during the year,”
says the EGU‘s Director of Coaching and Elite Squad
Manager Peter Mattsson. “As such it is more of a support
squad than a training squad and should provide an individual
support programme for each player.”
“Players are offered the benefits of Elite Squad training
sessions but if for some reason somebody cannot commit to
all of these the player still gets the support that equals
what other players get.”
The Elite Squad, which is constantly reviewed, forms the
centrepiece of the World Class Performance Programme, which
has been established following agreement between the English
Golf Union and Sport England, who fund the programme through
the National Lottery. The long-term aim of the programme is
to systematically produce a regular stream of English players
with the ability to perform successfully on the world stage.
Elite Squad
Seve Benson (Wentworth, Surrey)
Gary Boyd (Cherwell Edge, Northamptonshire)
Matthew Cryer (Coventry, Warwickshire)
Oliver Fisher (West Essex, Essex)
David Horsey (Styal, Cheshire)
Stephen Lewton (Woburn, Berks, Bucks & Oxon)
Ross McGowan (Banstead Downs, Surrey)
Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk)
Ben Parker (Royal Birkdale, Lancashire)
Ed Richardson (Southern Valley, Kent)
Paul Waring (Bromborough, Cheshire)
Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs, Leicestershire)
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