England name four new caps for Home Internationals next week

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England have named four new caps - Chris Lloyd (The Kendleshire, Gloucestershire), Jack Senior (Heysham, Lancashire), Matthew Southgate (Thorpe Hall, Essex) and Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle, Hampshire) - in their 11-man squad for the Home Internationals at Ashburnham Golf Club in Wales next week (August 11 to 13).
The other seven members of the team are Jamie Abbott (Fynn Valley - Suffolk), Laurie Canter (Saltford, Somerset), Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall – Lancashire), Tom Lewis (Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire), Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire), Chris Paisley (Stocksfield, Northumberland) and Eddie Pepperell (Drayton Park).
The line-up shows three changes from the side that lost to France at Chantilly in May, one player having turned professional, while five of the side were in the European Team Championship-winning squad in Sweden last month. There are four teenagers in the line-up while the average age is just under 21.
Lloyd, at 18, is the youngest of the squad and means he has now been capped at Under 16, boys and full international level. One of the most promising teenagers in amateur golf, he won the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters and the County Champions Tournament in 2009 and this year he has won the South West Boys Championship and was runner-up in the McEvoy Trophy. He has also been picked to represent Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September.
Senior, 22, has been ‘knocking on the door’ for some time, having been a reserve for last year’s Home Internationals. Recently, he won the South of England Amateur Championship finishing on a stunning round of 62. He has also had a string of top ten finishes in leading events over recent years including runner-up in the West of England Stroke Play and third places in the Lee Westwood and Lytham Trophies.
Southgate, 21, won this year’s St Andrews Links Trophy and finished tied tenth in the Brabazon Trophy. In 2009, he finished runner-up in the English County Champions Tournament behind Lloyd, was third in the Welsh Open Stroke Play and helped Essex win the County Championship for the first time.
Wright, 21, was the Boys Under 18 Champion in 2006 and a boy international. Last year, he won the West of England Stroke Play, was second in the French Stroke Play and third in the Czech Amateur. His biggest win came in June this year when he won the Brabazon Trophy at Hoylake after reaching the fourth round of the Amateur Championship.
Abbott, 23, made his full England debut in the 2008 Home Internationals and has been a virtual regular since. He had a string of runner-up places in 2009 including the Portuguese Amateur, Berkhamsted Trophy and the Lagonda Trophy. This year, the Suffolk man finished second in the Hampshire Hog, third in the Lagonda Trophy and fourth in the Hampshire Salver.
Canter, 20, who won the Midland Youths in 2009, has enjoyed a highly successful year, winning the South African Amateur, Hampshire Hog and West of England Stroke Play and finishing fourth in the Duncan Putter. He made his England debut in the victorious European Men’s Team Championships squad.
Fleetwood, 19, who will be making his final appearance as an amateur at Ashburnham, is the new English champion following his victory at Little Aston last weekend. An under 16 cap in 2005; he was a boy international in 2007 and 2008, making his full England debut in the 2008 Home Internationals. Among his victories have been the County Champions Tournament and the Scottish Open Stroke Play, while he has finished runner-up in the Amateur Championship, Spanish Amateur and New South Wales Amateur as well as the Scottish Champion of Champions. A Walker Cup player last year, he recently finished second in the English Challenge on the European Challenge Tour.
Lewis, 19, has also been capped at Under-16, boys and full England level, making his debut in the latter in this year’s match with France. He enjoyed a distinguished career at boys level, culminating in becoming British and English Boys Champion in 2009. This year, he has won the Berkhamsted Trophy, finished second in the Welsh Open Stroke Play and third in the Selborne and Hampshire Salvers. He was in England’s winning European Nations Cup and European Team Championships squads and was beaten by Fleetwood in the semi-finals of last week’s English Amateur.
Nixon, 21, was British Boys Champion in 2006 and capped at boys level the following year. A quarter finalist in the English Amateur in 2008, he was a joint winner in 2009 of the Henriques Salver when finishing tied fourth in the Brabazon Trophy and made his full England debut in last year’s Home Internationals. This year, he has finished equal third in the Lytham Trophy, fourth in the Scottish Open Stroke Play and was a semi-finalist in the Amateur Championship.
Paisley, 24, is another joining the professional ranks following the Home Internationals. He enjoyed a successful four year’s golf at college in Tennessee returning home to finish runner-up in the 2008 English Amateur Championship, Tillman Trophy and the South of England Stroke Play. He made his full England debut in last year’s Home Internationals and was Fleetwood’s team-mate in the Walker Cup. This year, he was also a member of the winning England teams in the European Nations Cup and European Team Championships and reached the semi-finals of the Amateur Championship.
Pepperell, 19, is another who has been capped at three different levels. England Under 14 Champion in 2005, he was a semi-finalist in the 2007 British Boys and reached the last four of the Spanish Amateur the following year. He made his full England debut in the 2008 Home Internationals while in 2009 he was runner-up to Lewis in the British Boys and a quarter finalist in the Spanish and English Amateur Championships. This year, he ended a winless run with victories in the Welsh Open Stroke Play and the Berkshire Trophy and helped England win the European Men’s Team Championship. He has also represented GB and I in the Jacque Leglise Trophy on three occasions.
England will defend the Home Internationals title for the Raymond Trophy at Ashburnham, having regained it last year at Hillside.