First of all,  my apologies for getting the first round draw incorrect in my previous post. Eddie Pepperell beat Mariano Malmiera of Argentina to set up a second round tie with another Argentinian  Sergio Sosa. Unfortunately Tommy Fleetwood lost at the first hurdle in matchplay to Peter Spearman from New Zealand.

for full results click here then click on top right tab.

Both Eddie Pepperell and Tommy Fleetwood advanced safely through top 64 in qualifying for the matchplay section of the Argentina Amateur Championship in Buenos Aires. Eddie carded a 36 hole total of level par 144 and Tommy a 148.

Eddie faces Argentinian Sergio Sosa in the first round and Tommy tees it up against James Ryan Fox from New Zealand.

England Boys Tom Lewis and Chris Lloyd along with England Squad invitee Ben Herbert will battle out over 54 holes for the Abu Dhabi Junior Golf Championship presented by the Daily Telegraph starting on Friday 27th November.

Tom Lewis qualified by virtue of his second round 68 at the Carris Trophy at Moor Park. Ben Herbert qualified when carding a 66 at Thorndon Park during the Essex County Junior Championship. Chris Lloyd has received a sponsor’s invitation. A total of twelve boys  and nine girls make up the field. Current holders of the trophies are Stiggy Hodgson and Carly Booth who also won their respective titles in 2007.

A  Challenge Match will take place on Thursday 26th November at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.  21 UAE juniors and 21 UK juniors will team up in pairs to play in the day’s competition alongside each other in a stableford match with the winning pair, made up of a UK and a UAE junior, being crowned victorious at the end of the day.

For further information click here.

Tommy Flinn’s Under 16 Squad had a very successful weekend at Cumberwell Park. With Mark Bull and Tony Sephton working closely together on Biodynamics and strength and condtioning. Tommy says, “we have really taken the Under 16 programme two steps forward, adding Biodynamics S & C has really got the squad buzzing”. Gordon Brand Junior looked after the short game and on course expertise.

Kieron Fowler emerged as the overall winner of the weekend. A delighted Tommy added. “Living in Spain, Kieron gets plenty of warm weather practice. However, I am delighted the way the weekend went and my thanks go to all the support staff who worked so hard to make it so successful”.

The Squad now takes a break until after Christmas when they begin a four match series against the regions.

A very hard lesson is to be learnt from the disqualification of both Tommy Fleetwood and Eddie Pepperell after the third round of Copa Juan Carlos Tailhade team event at Los Lagartos Country Club in Argentina.

The pick and place ruling was introduced when the third round finally got under way after some inclement weather. The local rules clearly stated that the ball could be lifted, cleaned and placed back in the exact spot where lifted. Unfortunately, both Tommy and Eddie both replaced their balls within six inches, a method usually associated with pick and place in Britain and Europe.

This was a very unfortunate situation as both players had remained in the lead after the three rounds. However, it clearly shows that all players must read local rules or ask a referee if in any doubt. I am sure that they will both learn from their mistake. However, I doubt whether they were the only two players in the tournament who made this error.

Well done to both Eddie and Tommy for their honesty to the tournament committee and showing the integrity of all English Golf Union players abroad.

Tommy Flinn’s Under 16 Squad have their third training session of the winter this weekend at Cumberwell Park. Joining the squad this weekend will be invitee Harry Ellis from Meon Valley. Lead Coach John Jacobs, Gordon Brand Junior and Tommy will be putting the squad through a series of coaching routines, long and short game coupled with a number of skills tests. Mark Bull joins both Lynn Booth and Tony Sephton to create a strength and conditioning link with his Biodynamics assessment screening.

Former England Boys Tommy Fleetwood and Eddie Pepperell gave their country a two stroke lead in the first round of the Copa Juan Carlos Tailhade team event at Los Lagartos Country Club in Argentina. Fleetwood jointly leads the individual race with five birdies and one bogey for a four under 67. A rather sick Eddie Pepperell backed him up superbly with a bogey free 68. Beware of the sick golfer!

For full round one results click here and go to the top right hand tab

England have selected their Boys team to play South Africa and Canada in the Triangular International at Zebula Country Club, Bela Bela, South Africa, 11th/14th January 2010. The tournament is played over three days of singles and foursomes match play in a round robin format.

The week in South Africa will include a visit to the world famous practice facility in Johannesburg, the Vodacom World of Golf. The trip will also include a safari at Mabalingwe Game Reserve where the boys can see some of Africa’s most famous wild animals in their natural habitat.

The team consists of two Under-16’s and four Under -18’s.

England Team
James Burnett
Adam Carson
Sebastian Crookall-Nixon
Chris Lloyd  (Under 18’s)
Max Orrin
Toby Tree (Under 16’s)

Non travelling reserve: Ben Taylor

Eight of the core England Boys Squad and four invitees spent a very successful weekend at Woodhall Spa. Saturday saw a combination of short and long game skill tests along with media training in the form of interviews with each player. These interviews were then judged by five officials, Brian Roake, Graham Walker, Tony Sephton, Les Walker and Tommy Flinn. The best interview was adjudged to be Ben Taylor, this can bee seen below.

Sunday morning all players had a club fitting session by both Titleist and Ping. Our sincere thanks go to both companies for their excellent work with the players and on a Sunday!

The twelve players were split into two teams over the weekend and were captained by Chris Lloyd and Adam Carson. Chris’s team was victorious by 128 points. Chris also won the par 3 tournament over 16 holes with an 8 under par 40.

The next training session for the Under 18 Squad will be warm weather training at Arcos at the end of the month. Players attending the weekend will be: James Burnett, Oliver Carr, Adam Carson, Sebastian Crookall-Nixon, Curtis Griffiths, Liam Harper, Nick Newbold and Ben Taylor.

England Under 18 Squad have their second weekend training session at Woodhall Spa starting Friday. The core squad and invitees Harry Casey, Ben Herbert, Greg Payne and Colin Walsh will be put through their paces under the guidance of Lead Coach Graham Walker and Squad Manager Brian Roake. Both Ping and Titleist will be giving the squad a club checking and fitting service on Sunday.