English Golf Union review Elite Squad

BENSON, BOYD, FISHER, LEWTON, McGOWAN
AND PARKER ARE SIX NEWCOMERS

There are six newcomers in the latest review of Elite Squad players released by the English Golf Union. They are Seve Benson, Gary Boyd, Oliver Fisher, Stephen Lewton, Ross McGowan and Ben Parker.
The rest of the 12-strong squad is:
Matthew Cryer, David Horsey, Jamie Moul, Ed Richardson, Paul Waring and Gary Wolstenholme.
Benson, Boyd and McGowan have been promoted from last year’s A Squad, while Lewton and Parker have not previously been included in any senior squad.
Oliver Fisher joins the squad after completing his Talented Athlete Scholarship funding throughout 2006.
Boyd, Lewton, McGowan and Parker made their full England debuts in last month’s Home Internationals in Wales, while Benson has enjoyed a successful season culminating in victory in the Russian Amateur Championship.
Boyd, 20, who has now been capped at every level, reached the semi-finals of the Spanish Amateur and the quarter-finals of the English Amateur and was a member of the team that finished third in the European Youths Team Championships.
Lewton and McGowan, 23 and 24 respectively, are both graduates from college in the United States. McGowan has topped the PING/EGU Order of Merit this year after five runners-up places and victory in the English Amateur at Burnham and Berrow.
Parker, 19, helped England win the Boys' Home Internationals and European Boys Team Championships in recent years and is a former winner of the European Young Masters. He also won the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl in America last Christmas.
SEASONED INTERNATIONALS
The rest of the squad were Elite members this year and are all seasoned internationals, while the average age of the squad is 26.
“The Elite Squad is targeted to include 10-12 players with the ability to play for England during the year,” said the EGU‘s Director of Coaching and Elite Squad Manager, Peter Mattsson.
“As such it is more of a support squad than a training squad and should provide an individual support programme for each player.
"Players are offered the benefits of Elite Squad training sessions but if for some reason somebody cannot commit to all of these the player still gets the support that equals what other players get.”

The Elite Squad, which is constantly reviewed, forms the centrepiece of the World Class Performance Programme, which has been established following agreement between the English Golf Union and Sport England, who fund the programme through the National Lottery.
The long-term aim of the programme is to systematically produce a regular stream of English players with the ability to perform successfully on the world stage.
ENGLAND ELITE SQUAD
Seve Benson (Wentworth, Surrey), Gary Boyd (Cherwell Edge, Northamptonshire), Matthew Cryer (Coventry, Warwickshire), Oliver Fisher (West Essex, Essex), David Horsey (Styal, Cheshire), Stephen Lewton (Woburn, Berks), Ross McGowan (Banstead Downs, Surrey), Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk), Ben Parker (Royal Birkdale, Lancashire), Ed Richardson (Southern Valley, Kent) , Paul Waring (Bromborough, Cheshire), Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs, Leicestershire).