ENGLAND NAME STRONG SQUAD TO DEFEND EUROPEAN CROWN
 Jamie
Moul and Gary Wolstenholme (pictured left - photo courtesy
of Tom Ward), who helped England win the European Men’s
Team Championships two years ago, have been named in the team
to defend the title in Scotland next month.
The pair are the only members of the side who played before
at Hillside in 2005 that have not turned professional. They
will be joined at Western Gailes, Ayrshire, on 3rd - 7th July
by Gary Boyd, David Horsey, John Parry and Paul Waring.
All are members of England’s Elite Squad and featured
in the team that comprehensively beat Spain at Royal Ashdown
Forest last month.
Two years ago, Moul gained four points from five in the match
play stages while Wolstenholme won all five of his contests
on the way to the title.
Boyd, 20, made his full England debut in last year’s
Home Internationals in Wales. This followed a successful career
at under 16 and boys level during which he reached the quarter-finals
of the English Amateur Championship and the semi-finals of
the Spanish Amateur. Last winter the Northamptonshire player
won the inaugural Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in China
and this year was a quarter-finalist in the Spanish Amateur.
Horsey, 22, gained his first full England cap against France
last year and has enjoyed a number of individual successes.
These include victories in the North of England Youths Championship,
the English Champions Tournament, the West of England Stroke
Play, in the past two years, and the Lee Westwood Trophy.
He has also been runner-up in the English Amateur and the
Tasmanian Amateur, third in the South African Stroke Play
and was joint fourth recently in the Brabazon Trophy. Horsey
won all four of his matches against Spain.
Moul, 22, is another former boy cap, who made his full England
debut against France at Royal St George’s in 2004. In
2005, the Essex-based Suffolk player finished runner-up in
the St Andrews Links Trophy and was a Walker Cup reserve.
Since then he has been one of England’s leading performers.
Last year, he won the Lytham Trophy and reached the semi-finals
of the Amateur Championship and the English Amateur, was runner-up
in the German Amateur and third in the European Amateur. Recently
he was the joint winner of the Brabazon Trophy and finished
fourth in the St Andrews Links Trophy.
Parry, 20, is the youngest member of the side who, like Horsey,
made his full England debut against France last year. A former
winner of the McEvoy Trophy, the Yorkshireman has also finished
runner-up in the Carris Trophy (English Under 18 Championship)
and the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship. In 2005, he was
Yorkshire Champion and won the Danish Open Amateur, earning
a place in the Vietnam Open on the Asian Tour in which he
played all four rounds. After a less successful 2006, Parry
has bounced back this year to win the Spanish Amateur and
the Welsh Open Stroke Play, beating Waring in a playoff.
Waring, another 22 year old, has enjoyed considerable success
over the past seven years, starting with victory in the McGregor
Trophy (English Under-16 Championship) in 2001. Capped at
under 16 and boys levels, Waring was Cheshire Boys Champion
in 2002 and England Boy Captain the following year. After
being dogged by injury, he won the English title over his
home course at Bromborough in 2005 and made his full England
debut in that year’s Home Internationals and has been
a member of the side since. Last year, Waring finished runner-up
in the West of England, fifth in the Mexican Amateur and reached
the last 16 in defence of his English title. This year, he
reached the quarter-finals of the Spanish Amateur and lost
the playoff to Parry in the Welsh Open Stroke Play.
Wolstenholme, 46, will be playing in his seventh European
Team Championships. The most-capped England player, he recorded
his 200th appearance against the Spanish last month and recently
collected an MBE at Buckingham Palace. A prolific winner nationally
and across the world since making his England debut in 1988,
his successes in 2007 include victory in the New South Wales
Amateur and a successful defence of his European Mid Amateur
Championship earlier this month.
This will be the 25th playing of the Championships and England
has lifted the title on nine occasions.
The England team: Gary Boyd (Cherwell Edge),
David Horsey (Styal), Jamie Moul (Stoke-by-Nayland), John
Parry (Harrogate), Paul Waring (Bromborough) and Gary Wolstenholme
(Kilworth Springs). Non-travelling reserve: Ben Parker (Royal
Birkdale)
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