TWO NEW CAPS FOR EUROPEAN BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ben Welch from Dorset and Sandeep Grewal from Cheshire are the new caps in the England side for the European Boys Team Championships at Uppsala, Sweden on 6-10 July.

Welch, the 17 year old from Weymouth, earns his call up after impressive displays including victory in last year's South of England Boys Championship while he finished as leading boy in the recent Brabazon Trophy at Moortown in Leeds.

Grewal, also 17, from the Heswall club, earns his first cap having represented England at under-16 level against Italy in 1997. He was also runner-up in the La Manga Masters in March and in last month's McEvoy Trophy.

The side for Sweden contains two survivors, Nick Dougherty (Shaw Hill) and David Porter (Stoneham) from the team that finished third behind champions Ireland at Gullane, Scotland, a year ago, while the rest of the six-strong line up is Scott Godfrey (St Enodoc) and Simon Robinson (Seaton Carew). Non-travelling reserve is David Skinns (Canwick Park).

Dougherty, Porter, Godfrey and Robinson were members of England's triumphant Boys Home Internationals squad at St Andrews last August, whilst Dougherty, Grewal, Godrey and Porter will defend the World Boys Team Championship in Japan next month.

Lancastrian Dougherty, 17, has been impressive over the last two years including finishing runner-up in the McGregor Trophy last year, taking third place in the recent McEvoy Trophy after shooting a course record of 66 in the last round, and returning three rounds of 70 in this month's Lytham Trophy.

Porter, 16, from Hampshire, won the McEvoy Trophy last month with a championship record aggregate of 280. Durham-based Robinson, 18, the 1995 Reid Trophy champion, won the Golf Foundation Schools Final at Kenilworth recently and played all four rounds of the Brabazon Trophy earlier this month as did Godfrey, 18, from Cornwall, who finished seventh in the McEvoy and 15th in the West of England Championship at Saunton.