Maybe the strength of English golf should not be measured by the presence of seven Englishmen in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, or by the exploits of Georgia Hall, Charley Hull, Bronte Law, Jody Ewart Shadoff, Mel Reid and others in women’s professional golf. Perhaps you have to dig a wee bit deeper, down into amateur golf, to understand why England continues to produce so many world-class stars.
Do so and what quickly become apparent is that England has invariably been very successful in producing top-quality elite amateurs. Half of the recent eight-woman Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team were English. Seven English players were named to the 10-man GB&I Walker Cup team that competed at Seminole earlier this year. England swept the recent trifecta of Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa, lifting the respective trophies in the women’s, senior men’s and women’s, and girls’ and boys’ contests.
The England men’s team heads into the R&A Men's Home Internationals at Hankley Common next week looking to make it a clean sweep of four trophies to display at England Golf headquarters and they do it with a new-look side including two players from that 11-man team who helped the England girls’ and boys’ side win at Woodhall.
Seventeen-year-olds Josh Hill and Jack Bigham join a strong England line-up that also features Sam Bairstow, Callan Barrow, Zachary Chegwidden, Jack Dyer, Arron Edwards-Hill, John Gough, Olly Huggins, Haider Hussain and Laird Shepherd.
Shepherd is the reigning Amateur champion, Bairstow the Brabazon Trophy winner, Gough won the English Amateur and Barrow the Scottish Men’s Open Championship, while Chegwidden finished second to Bairstow in the Brabazon and won the Berkshire Trophy in June.
Bigham and Hill also have baubles of their own. Bigham won the Boys’ Amateur at Royal Cinque Ports last month. Hill was joint winner (with England colleague Frank Kennedy) of the George Henriques Salver, as the leading GB&I players younger than age 20 at the Brabazon, and now both have the chance to move seamlessly up to a higher level.
Four-time Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup player and three-time captain Nigel Edwards is England Golf’s performance director, a position he’s held since 2012. No juniors have played in the men’s team during his tenure, but he’s not surprised by the move up the ranks by Hill and Bigham.
“It’s certainly unique in my time,†Edwards told GGP. “I don’t recall it happening in the years I’ve been with England Golf, but it’s a sign of the strength of junior golf in England. Josh and Jack deserve their places after the way they’ve played this season.
“Really, it’s just a natural progression for both. And there are others in the junior teams, boys and girls, on the fringes of the men’s and women’s teams. We’ve always got one eye on the future when it comes to talent, and we have a lot of players ready to make the progression.â€
The pair were unbeaten in three Home International foursomes matches at Woodhall Spa, with Hill going unbeaten in the round-robin format against Scotland, Ireland and Wales with five victories and one halve. Bigham also won five contests, with one just loss.
Edwards, who earned two Walker Cup victories as GB&I captain, says the 17-year-olds have the maturity to play at the upper level.
“Josh or Jack won’t be fazed by stepping into the men’s team,†he said. “They are an established foursomes pairing who did really well in the Girls’ and Boys’ Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa. Both had good performances in the Amateur Championship and have done well this season. Jack won the Boys’ Championship, while Josh is no stranger to playing in men’s golf. He’s won the Mena Tournament and has played in European Tour events.â€
The pair were unbeaten in three Home International foursomes matches at Woodhall Spa, with Hill going unbeaten in the round-robin format against Scotland, Ireland and Wales with five victories and one halve. Bigham also won five contests, with one just loss. They also teamed up in the Jacques Léglise Trophy at Falsterbo Golf Club in Sweden, albeit in a team that lost 16½-8½ to Europe.
Edwards believes the inclusion of Bigham and Hill in the men’s team is a result of the holistic approach England Golf takes to player development.
“It’s sometimes hard to get juniors and seniors together because of the crowded schedule, but we try hard to take an all-encompassing approach to all our teams, to bring them together as often as possible,†he said. “We were fortunate this year to get the men’s and boys’ teams and the girls’ and women’s teams together because of cancellations caused by COVID(-19), so Josh and Jack will already have formed relationships with their new teammates. They should make a seamless move into the team. I’m sure they’ll both do well at Hankley Common.â€
England enter the R&A Men’s Home Internationals as reigning champions after successfully defending their title at Lahinch Golf Club, Ireland, two years ago (the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic). England has won or shared the title on 46 occasions stretching back to the inaugural tournament at Royal Troon in 1932. Scotland are next in line with 26 wins. Ireland, champions four years in a row between 2014 and 2017, has 18 victories, with Wales lifting the trophy just once.
Top: Josh Hill (left) and Jack Bigham
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