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• Peter McEvoy Trophy gets underway at Copt Heath GC tomorrow
• Field of 72 to take to the course for the leading U18 amateur event
• Past winners include Lee Westwood and Justin Rose
Seventy-two budding young golfers will be aiming to have their name up in lights alongside 2013 US Open champion Justin Rose and former world No.1 Lee Westwood as the 34th Peter McEvoy Trophy gets underway tomorrow.
Open to boys under the age of 18, the 72-hole event, which takes place over two days at Copt Heath GC near Solihull, brings together leading young amateurs from across the UK and even Europe as they look to captured the coveted title.
Such is the event’s stature in the boys amateur circuit, it is especially timed early in the season to allow the Great Britain and Ireland golfing unions a last chance to see some of the country’s finest junior talent put through their paces ahead of selection for the European and World Championships.
The SGU has 13 representatives at the tournament, including 2014 Scottish Boys Order of Merit winner Calum Fyfe – who at plus 3.6 has the lowest handicap in the entire field – and last week’s Scottish Boys Championship winner Will Porter.
“It’s not a tournament we need to advertise because it’s a must go-to event for aspiring young players” – Keith Lester
This year’s Peter McEvoy trophy is the first where every player is off exactly scratch or better and competition coordinator Keith Lester says it emphasises the tournament’s high reputation among players and unions alike.
He said: “One of the noticeable things is how the qualifying score has come down every year with everyone in the field having plus handicaps apart from seven who are all 0.0, while the reputation of the tournament has been backed by having some notable winners including Westwood and Rose .
“The unions know who their key players are and they will make sure that they enter because it is very important by virtue of selection for other events. As a result, it’s not a tournament we need to advertise because it’s a must go-to event for aspiring young players.”
CONTINUES BELOW…
The competition was introduced in 1981 by two-time British Amateur champion Peter McEvoy – chairman of the R&A selection committee and a member of Copt Heath GC since he was four-years-old – who is incredibly passionate about the amateur game but, as Lester explains, warns the young players to concentrate just as much on their studies too.
He said: “If you talk to Peter, he warns the youngsters to work hard at school and don’t forget you’re A-Levels because at the end of the day, it’s a game and only very, very few will make it.
“There’s a huge gulf between those who make it and those who nearly make it and it’s a big worry for those who play off plus three when they’re 16 or something who think they can be the next Justin Rose. The statistics are that every year, only one or one-and-a-half people will go on to earn more than the average wage, that’s taking into account all the travelling expenses.
“Peter stayed as an amateur and recognises the virtues of the amateur game so I think he’s very wary about young boys at an impressionable age thinking that because they’re good at golf, they can earn a lot of money.”
Haydn McCullen won the Peter McEvoy Trophy last year on five-under, finishing two shots clear of Bradley Moore, while Ewen Ferguson – who won the Craigmillar Park Open at the weekend – finished third on level par.
The 107-year-old Copt Heath course is renowned as one of the most challenging on the junior competition circuit and thankfully for the players, despite the unpredictable weather April usually brings, the forecast is for sunshine on day one tomorrow with Thursday expected to be overcast.
The Peter McEvoy Trophy :: A Scottish winner?
Can any one of the 13 Scottish competitors go two better than Ewen Ferguson and win in 2015? Leave your thoughts below.
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