England pick five new caps for Euro boys' team championship

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England will field five new caps, three of them from the Midlands, in their six-strong squad to contest the European boys' team championship at Klassis Golf and Country Club in Istanbul, Turkey from July 6 to 10.
The newcomers, most of whom are stepping up from under 16 level, are James Burnett (Sleaford, Lincolnshire), Greg Eason (Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire), Liam Harper (Lydd, Kent), Paul Lockwood (Hessle, Yorkshire) and Nick Newbold (Kedleston Park, Derbyshire). The other member of the team is Chris Lloyd (The Kendleshire, Gloucestershire), while Oliver Carr (Heswall, Cheshire) is reserve.
Burnett has been an under 16 cap since 2006 and enjoyed a successful 2009 in which he shared victory with two others in the inaugural Junior County Champions Tournament, finished runner-up in the Midland Youths and the Lincolnshire Championship and was a quarter finalist in the British Boys. A member of the England Under 18 squad, so far this year he has been fifth in the Fairhaven Trophy and tied sixth in the McEvoy Trophy, while a closing 66 helped Lincolnshire to second place in the recent Midland Boys Qualifying.
Eason, who will turn 18 while in Turkey, will be making his England debut having this year finished third in the McEvoy. He shot rounds of 67 and 65 for Leicestershire in the Midland Boys Qualifying in what was his first tournament since suffering a virus which prevented him representing England in the Thunderbird Junior International in the US the previous week.
Harper, 17, is another member of the Under 18 Squad who has been an under 16 cap for the past two years. He has represented the EGU in South Africa, Germany and the Netherlands where he finished third in last year’s Dutch Junior Masters. This year, he has been joint runner-up in the Fairhaven Trophy.
Lloyd, 18, is one of the most promising talents in English golf with a string of successes. A former South West and North of England Under 16 Champion, he retained the North of England title in 2008 when he also won the Ernie Els World Junior Tournament in South Africa. Last year, when finishing second on the Titleist Footjoy EGU Boys Order of Merit, his victories included the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters, the County Champions Tournament and the Gloucestershire title, while he was runner-up in the Carris Trophy. He was also a member of England’s victorious team in the Boys Home Internationals and of the GB&I team in the Jacques Leglise Trophy. His good run of form has continued in 2010 with second place after a playoff in the McEvoy Trophy and joint sixth in the Lytham Trophy.
Lockwood, 18, has been emerging as a power in Yorkshire over the past two years. He finished runner-up in the North of England Youths but won the under 18 title and was a regular in his county’s men’s team, winning most of his matches. This year, he finished second in the Yorkshire Boys Championship with a closing 68 at Moortown, finished tied sixth in the McEvoy Trophy, joint seventh in the Darwin Salver and shot two 70s for the county in the Northern Qualifying at Wallasey.
Newbold, 17, is another under 16 international who finished runner-up in the Midland Boys last year and was involved in the five-way playoff for the McGregor Trophy. He also finished tied fifth in the Dutch Junior Masters, sixth in the Junior County Champions Tournament and reached the last 16 of the British Boys. This year, he has finished fifth in the Lagonda Trophy, came successfully through the Brabazon Trophy qualifying and fired a closing 66 to steer Derbyshire to victory in the recent Midland Boys Qualifying at Horsley Lodge.
England has won the European Boys title on eight occasions, in 1981, ’85, ’86, ’89, ’94, ’95, ’99, and 2004. Last year in Holland they finished fifth behind winners Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.