Seb from Cumbria seeking to retain

McGregor Trophy for under-16s

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Sebastian Crookall-Nixon (Workington) will defend the title when the McGregor Trophy, the English boys' open under-16 stroke-play championship, returns to Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club near Nottingham, celebrating its centenary year, from June 30 t0 July 2.
The Cumbrian youngster won the title a year ago at High Post Golf Club in Wiltshire and if successful will be only the second player to retain the championship.
The only player to win the title two years in a row was Jim Payne, now the professional at Southport & Ainsdale, when he was successful at Radcliffe-on-Trent in 1986 and 1987.
Crookall-Nixon is in the second game out at 7.40am on June 30, along with Ewan Scott from St Andrews and Spain’s Javier Sainz in a highly-talented international field.
However, the champion faces strong opposition not least from his England under-16 squad colleagues Harry Casey (Enfield), Liam Harper (Lydd) and Colin Walsh (Hayling). Others likely to be in the shake-up for the title are Woburn’s Harry Whittle, a former under-16 cap, Leon Fricker from Oxley Park, Devon, Staffordshire’s Robert Burlison and Jack Orme, winner of the Staffordshire under-16 winter knock-out competition.
Also competing is Toby Tree, the reigning England under-14 champion, who won the title at Coxmoor last August. There is also a strong overseas contingent seeking to take the title abroad for the first time since 2003 when Dutchman Wouter de Vries was successful.
Players from Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and a 21-strong squad from Spain, are in the field of 132, as well as Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There will also be a Nations Cup competed for over the opening two rounds.
Nine countries will be fielding a total of 14 teams, England’s two squads comprising Crookall-Nixon, Oliver Carr and Toby Tree and Harper, Casey and Walsh.
Apart from Jim Payne, other past winners of the under 16 title include Steve Webster, Graeme Storm and Justin Rose, while more recent champions have been internationals James Heath, Michael Skelton, Paul Waring, Matthew Baldwin and Oliver Fisher.
The title has also been won by non-British players on three occasions, by Eduardo Molinari in 1996, his fellow Italian Roberto Paolillo in 1997 and by de Vries in 2003. Play starts at 7.30am each day and admission is free. For those unable to attend, live scoring and news updates will be available on the Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.