Brabazon Trophy repeat win odds are

stacked against Steven Uzzell

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Steven Uzzell can rewrite the record books when he defends the Brabazon Trophy, this year supported by SkyCaddie at Moortown Golf Club, Leeds from May 15 to 17.
No one has won successive Brabazon titles outright for over half a century. It has been shared in successive years by the likes of Sir Michael Bonallack (1968 & ‘69), Rodney Foster (1969 & ‘70) and Gary Evans (1990 & ‘91). But no one since Philip Scrutton in 1954 and ’55 has completed successive individual victories so the Yorkshireman has the chance to join an elite band if he can come out on top again.
England International Uzzell became the English open amateur stroke-play champion of 2008 with a superb display at Trevose in Cornwall and while he is not looking for records a successful defence would boost his chances of Walker Cup selection.
“It would be nice to create a record but I won’t be thinking about that when I tee off,” he says. Uzzell is also happy that the championship is being played in his home county and on a course he knows well.
“Moortown is a cracking test of golf,” he adds. “You have got to play well there to be successful. If you don’t it can punish you. You can also get a fair amount of breeze and the wind can swirl around the trees.
“The last time I played there was in 2007 when I lost in the semi-finals of the Yorkshire championship to Danny Willett. It was the start of his fantastic run when he went on to win the South of England and the English Amateur in successive weeks and then play in the Walker Cup.
“It will be interesting to see how the scoring goes on the qualifying days. But you are not going to get an unknown winning; it will be someone with quality.”
That is borne out by the calibre of winners in the four previous Brabazons at Moortown. Doug Sewell won in 1957, Bonallack and Foster tied in 1969, South African Nevil Sundelson in 1974 and Mark Side from Surrey in 1999.
Home advantage will also allow Uzzell to commute each day from his home near Hull but the 25 year old left-hander will face a quality international field in the first English Golf Union (EGU) ‘major’ of the season. Not only will he face the challenge of his England team-mates but also players from 16 other countries not to mention those from the other Home nations.
The field includes 20 members of the Walker Cup squad including Uzzell, English champion Todd Adcock, who is in the same three-ball as Uzzell, seasoned campaigner Nigel Edwards from Wales, Wallace Booth, Keir McNicoll and Paul O’Hara from Scotland, Ireland’s Niall Kearney and Paul Cutler as well as other England caps Tommy Fleetwood, Charlie Ford, Luke Goddard and Dale Whitnell.
There is also a strong Continental challenge from the likes of Rainer Saxton, the Amateur champion from the Netherlands, and Henri Pyykola from Finland.
The title has gone overseas several times in recent years with the likes of Ignacio Garrido from Spain (1992), Peter Hanson from Sweden (1998), Germany’s Jochen Lupprian (2000), Charl Schwartzel from South Africa (2002) and Frenchman Romain Bechu, joint winner with England’s Jamie Moul in 2007.
Once again, there will be two days of qualifying with 120 players competing on Wednesday 13th May and another 120 on Thursday the 14th, the leading 30 from each day plus ties joining the 77 exempt players for the competition proper.
Among those having to qualify are a string of boy internationals including Jonathan Bell, Tom Boys, Tom Lewis and Oscar Sharpe plus Adam Carson, recent winner of the Fairhaven Trophy.
Play starts at 7am each day including the qualifying rounds and admission is free.
For those unable to attend, live scoring and news updates will available on the Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.