DOUGHERTY AND GRIFFITHS ARE AUSTRALIA BOUND

England will send two of its most promising young golfers to Australia in the new year to represent the English Golf Union in the annual Lake Macquarie tournament.

Nick Dougherty, 18, (Shaw Hill) and David Griffiths, 20, (West Herts), will seek to bring the title back home after an absence of 10 years when they tee-off at Belmont Golf Club in New South Wales on 25-28 January 2001.

Both players have enjoyed successful seasons during which they represented England at full international level, and both are members of the squad from which the 2001 Walker Cup team will be selected.

Dougherty, the current England Boys’ captain, has been on the international scene since making his debut in the Boys Home Internationals as a 15 year old in 1997. During the past year, he made his senior debut against France at Chart Hills in May and kept his place for the Home Internationals at Carnoustie in September.

He also represented Great Britain and Ireland against Europe in the St Andrews Trophy at Turnberry and was named as a reserve for the Eisenhower Trophy.

In individual events, Dougherty has won the Faldo Junior Series for the third successive year, while he reached the last 16 of the English Amateur, tied sixth in the Brabazon Trophy, and was joint fifth in the St Andrews Links Trophy.

Griffiths, a former winner of the Carris Trophy, the West of England Championship, and the County Champions tournament, added to his impressive list of successes by winning the St Mellion Trophy, while he tied third in the Brabazon and reached the quarter finals of the English Amateur.

He has also been a regular in an England shirt this year, playing at senior level against France and South Africa as well as in the Home Internationals. He was also a member of the victorious England team that won the European Youths Team Championship for the first time and was a reserve for the St Andrews Trophy matches.

The Lake Macquarie event has proved England’s Achilles Heel in recent times although Paul Casey and Luke Donald won the team event last January. However, the individual title has proved elusive since Russell Claydon won in 1989 and Ricky Willison in 1991.

Most of the top golf playing nations send teams to Belmont while the Australians will, as usual, be tough to beat. So the event will provide the two England youngsters with stern early year competition.