BUSY PORTER HAS MCGREGOR
TROPHY IN HIS SIGHTS

David Porter, who has just helped England retain the Boys World Team Championships in Japan, starts among the favorites for the McGregor Trophy at Fairhaven on 1-2 July.

The 16 year old from the Stoneham club in Hampshire finished tied 21st in the individual standings in Japan and, with a wealth of international experience already under his belt, Porter could be the one to beat.

His main opposition for the England Under-16 Championship is likely to come from the four members of the England team, Eren Behcet, Craig Stevenson, James Heath and Michael Nester, who are due to face Italy in the annual Under-16 international the previous day at the same venue.

Behcet, 15, from the Langley Park club in Kent and who makes his international debut against the Italians, is having another successful year after finishing runner-up in the 1998 Reid Trophy.

Heath (Coombe Wood), Stevenson (Whittington Heath), the Reid Trophy winner in 1997, and Nester (Hollinwell) all earned representative honours last year either against Scotland at Wearside or against the England Girls Under-18 at Bristol & Clifton.

However, the immediate past McGregor Trophies have produced surprise winners, Italy's Robert Paolillo winning in 1997 and Yasin Ali from Ealing taking the title a year ago.

Italy have again entered their four players from the international while the non-English challenge is further boosted by the inclusion of one Dutch youngster while there is also a Welsh contingent on the start sheet.

This will be the first time in the 18 year history of the Championship that the McGregor has left its traditional home at Radcliffe on Trent in Nottingham. It will now visit all four regions of England in succession but return to Radcliffe while the Midland region plays host.

Past winners of the McGregor have gone on to greater things. Jim Payne won in 1986 and 1987 while Steve Webster triumphed in 1992, Graeme Storm, the newly crowned Amateur Champion, in 1994 and Justin Rose in 1995.