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RUSSIAN
TEENAGER CHALLENGES FOR
MCGREGOR TROPHY
Jonathan Petrou
and Daniel Dunn will bid to end the English Boys’ Under-16 crowns
when the McGregor Trophy is played at Nigel Mansell’s Woodbury Park,
in Devon, on 5th – 6th July.
Petrou (Muswell
Hill) and Dunn (Harrogate) are the immediate past winners of the
Reid Trophy at Porters Park, Petrou in 1998 and Dunn last year.
They now step up to the higher age group with every prospect of
adding to their successes.
But they face
tough challenges from a host of talented youngsters, many of whom
are either members of the EGU’s School of Excellence or are benefiting
from EGU coaching, as well as from a number of overseas players
including Grigory Bondarenko, the first Russian to compete in the
event. The 16-year-old, two handicapper from Moscow was due to
play last year but never made it to Fairhaven.
Players from
Italy and Holland, plus a team from Wales are also in the field,
while the quartet who will represent England in the Under-16 International
against Italy in the annual curtain-raiser to the McGregor, Erin
Behcet (Langley Park), Simon Bell (Northcliffe), Chris Clarke (Wath)
and Michael Skelton (Hunley Hall) are also competing.
Michael Pearson
(Blankney) and David Collinson (Hesketh), joint runners-up to Dunn
in last year’s Reid Trophy, will also tee up at Woodbury Park, while
the 132-strong field also includes cousins Simon Bell, third last
year, and Mark Bell (Bridlington) and brothers Robert and Alexander
Macgregor from Perranporth in Cornwall.
Gary Boyd (Cherwell
Edge), shock winner of the EGU Gold Medal at Woodhall Spa in 1998
as an 11-year-old, makes his McGregor debut having reduced his handicap
from 17 to 6 in that period, while local interest is likely to centre
on a number of southwest youngsters including James Ruth, son of
Tavistock Secretary, Graham Ruth.
The McGregor
left its traditional home at Radcliffe on Trent last year when it
was played at Fairhaven. This will be the first time it has been
played in the Southwest and the first time the EGU has staged one
of its championships at Woodbury Park, 10 miles east of Exeter.
A total of 167
entries were received but those with handicaps of 7 and above were
balloted out. A glance at the names of the past winners of the
McGregor show that several have gone on to greater things, such
as Jim Payne, winner 1986, Steve Webster in 1992 and Justin Rose
in 1995.
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