• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

British Boys Champs - Wallasey/Hoylake

Foxholer

Foxholer

Blackballed
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
24,160
Visit site
For those interested in a comparison of these 2 courses..

Or interested in the Champs

http://championships.randa.org/en/A...oreResultBoysAmateurScoring.aspx?view=overall

Hoylake scores were generally higher. That only means it's a higher scoring course, not necessarily a 'better' one - and who it might be better for.

Surprisingly, to me, few Scots involved. Does that just reflect number of players? Or is there something deeper - historical of course as there seem to be several initiatives in place.
 
Hoylake is definitely a harder course imo but Wallasey is a bit nicer to play and easier on the eye.

I liked them both a lot to be honest, Hoylake only gets a bit of bad press because its on the open rota and judged against some of the best in the world I reckon.
 
Think there is a bigger event on and the top Scot's are playing at it. Was also speaking to a few of the Scottish lads last week and they said that there was a rather poor playing in British Boys this year so they decided to give it a miss.


Scotland off to Winning Start at Home Internationals

[h=4]14/08/13[/h]Scott Knowles’ Scotland side got their title defence of to an excellent start with a comfortable win over Wales on the opening day of the Home Internationals supported by Fairstone Financial Managment at Ganton.

The Scots were off to a flyer in the morning foursomes, winning four out of five matches and halving the other to take a commanding 4.5 – 0.5 lead going into the singles. The pairing of Graeme Robertson and Jack McDonald continued where they left off at Glasgow Gailes last year, earning a 3&2 win in the top match, before last year’s Scottish Amateur Champion Grant Forrest and his partner Scott Borrowman eased to a 5&3 win over Lee Jones and Craig Melding.

Debutants Ewan Scott and James Ross had to settle for a half, but the experienced Matt Clark and Zander Culverwell combined to put more blue on the board, with Bradley Neil and Daniel Young also notching a 5&4 win.

For once, Robertson was on the wrong end of a singles defeat, going down 3&2 to Shufflebotham, but the Scots top order of Forrest, McDonald and Ross all posted comprehensive wins to put the defending champions within touching distance of the match.

Despite losses for Culverwell, Scott Crichton and Scott, it was last year’s SGU Order of Merit champion Borrowman who sealed victory for Scotland, earning a hard fought 2&1 win over Alistair Jones, while Matt Clark edged the final game against Ben Westgate to ensure honours were even in the singles matches.

“I’m delighted with the win,” said Scotland captain Scott Knowles. “There is never an easy match in international golf and although we built a good lead in the foursomes the Welsh came out in the afternoon and gave us a good game.

“Perhaps their young side were a little nervous in the morning but my side will have learned a lot from the afternoon singles. We want to defend the title and my team is more than capable of performing.”

Hosts England egded out Ireland 8-7 in a thrilling encounter and will now face Wales on day two. Scotland will be out for revenge against Ireland tomorrow, having been pipped in a great opening day tussle twelve months ago
 
Sort of explains it. Though British Boys follows the Home Internationals.

Wouldn't have thought there as much 'bigger' than the British. All the English HI guys seem to be in it - at least for the Strokeplay. Nice to have the 'choice'!

Most of the Girls stayed on after their equivalent HIs at St Annes Old to play at Fairhaven.
 
Foxholer said:
Sort of explains it. Though British Boys follows the Home Internationals.

Wouldn't have thought there as much 'bigger' than the British. All the English HI guys seem to be in it - at least for the Strokeplay. Nice to have the 'choice'!

Most of the Girls stayed on after their equivalent HIs at St Annes Old to play at Fairhaven.
Click to expand...


A lot of the lads up here have had a busy few weeks and most of the guys I know decided to give it a miss this year, the British Boys Champs is a big one but get the chance to play for your country in the Home Internationals well I don't know anyone who would turn that down, granted all the lads will be in their countries elite squad and would have been playing in the European last week.
 
Gutted one of lads from up here got beat today Rhys Thompson from boldon played him in a club match before some kid he will turn pro I'm telling you now
 
Foxholer said:
For those interested in a comparison of these 2 courses..

Or interested in the Champs

http://championships.randa.org/en/A...oreResultBoysAmateurScoring.aspx?view=overall

Hoylake scores were generally higher. That only means it's a higher scoring course, not necessarily a 'better' one - and who it might be better for.

Surprisingly, to me, few Scots involved. Does that just reflect number of players? Or is there something deeper - historical of course as there seem to be several initiatives in place.
Click to expand...




Hi there Foxholer,

It seems that it has more to do with quality and not quantity....


[h=1]Scotland’s Ferguson wins the Boys Amateur Championship[/h]
Ewen%20Ferguson%20_Boys_Amateur_1.ashx
Ewen Ferguson has become the first Scot to win The Boys Amateur Championship in almost a decade.
The 17-year-old from Bearsden came from three down after the first five holes to defeat the German Michael Hirmer, a pupil at Loretto School near Musselburgh, by 10 & 9 in the 36-hole final at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake).
It was a result which made Ferguson the first Scottish winner since Jordan Findlay defeated Tom Sherreard 2 & 1 at Conwy in Caernarvonshire back in 2004 and it reversed the result on the last occasion a Scot met a German in the Boys Amateur final, when Bernhard Neumann beat Findlay on the Scot’s defence of his title at Hunstanton in 2005.
This year’s final ended one hole earlier than last year when Matthew Fitzpatrick, who won the Silver medal as the leading amateur at the 2013 Open Championship, beat Welshman, Henry James, by 10 & 8 in the final at Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell).
It was also the most one-sided result since 1974 when Toby Shannon, who was a spectator this week, unexpectedly defeated Sandy Lyle by the same margin at Royal Liverpool.
“This is absolutely amazing,” said the new champion after recording a regulation par on the 27[SUP]th[/SUP] hole to defeat his demoralised German opponent.
“I’ve worked hard over the last two years and this has made it all worthwhile.
Ewen%20Ferguson%20_Boys_Amateur_2.ashx
“It is a great moment for me and it’s even more special because my family have come down to see it. Mum and dad have made a lot of sacrifices for me over the years and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for everything they have done.
“The funny thing is I never seem to play well when dad’s watching,” he added. “My golf was terrible first thing this morning but as soon as dad disappeared about the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] hole I started to play well.”
The first round of the final began in a brisk 20 mile per hour wind and it was the German who was first to acclimatise to the conditions. He went one up with a solid par at the 372-yard par-4 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] and then doubled that advantage when the Scot failed to extricate himself from a greenside bunker on the par-3 4[SUP]th[/SUP].
Hirmer went on to win the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] with a regulation par but Ferguson started his fightback with a 35-foot birdie putt across the green on the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] and then won both the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] and the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] to get back to all square for the first time since the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP].
The wind was still howling across the course as Ferguson won the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] but he gave back a hole with a wayward drive on the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] before starting his charge for the clubhouse by holing an 18-foot putt for a birdie to win the par-3 13[SUP]th[/SUP].
The Scot was suddenly exuding much more confidence than he had been when he started out in the morning and he went two up when he birdied the 15[SUP]th[/SUP] before hitting a wonderful 3-wood into the heart of the green at the 17[SUP]th[/SUP].
Michael%20Hirmer.ashx
Hirmer (Pictured Right) seemed to have the upper hand when Ferguson hit a 3-wood 310-yards into a fairway bunker on the 18[SUP]th[/SUP] but both players hit their second shots into the same greenside bunker and it was the Scot who emerged with a four hole lead at lunch when he hit out to 16-feet and holed the putt for an unlikely par.
Ferguson was three-under-par for the last 14 holes of his morning round and he was two-under-par in the afternoon by the time he claimed the match on the 27[SUP]th[/SUP]hole.
The Scot won the first hole of the second round when Hirmer hit his second shot into the deep rough that guards the left of the green. He went on to win the 20th hole with a birdie and then went seven up when Hirmer missed the green on the par-3 22[SUP]nd[/SUP]. The German did get one hole back when he holed out from 9-feet for a birdie on the 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] but the writing was on the wall when Ferguson won three holes in a row from the 24[SUP]th[/SUP] and it all ended on the 27[SUP]th[/SUP] when the players halved the hole in regulation par-4s.
“I started well this morning but then lost it a bit,” admitted the German. “It’s been a long week and I think it all just caught up with me in the end.
“I’m disappointed but after my 81 in the first round of qualifying if you told me I’d reach the final, I wouldn’t have believed you. That’s what I’m going to have to remember when I think about it tonight.”
Hirmer’s consolation was that he won the Peter Garner Bowl, awarded to the player aged under 17 who progresses furthest in the Championship.
The 2014 Boys Amateur Championship will be played at Prestwick and Dundonald Links in Scotland from 12-17 August.
 
Indeed.

Certainly worthwhile hanging about for the extra week for Ferguson.

3 English to the 1 (winning) Scot at the QF stage is probably just from playing numbers.

I can sympathise with the Runner-Up. That's 1 hole worse than I lost a Club Championship Final a few years ago!

Perhaps of more concern is that the last from either Country in the equivalent Girls event were 2 from England in the round of 16.
Maybe the Home Internationals did take a fair amount of them.

I believe most organisations in most sports prefer getting the numbers of high quality players up, specially at that age, and hope that there'll be a star emerges, not just because government funding normally works on that basis.
 
Last edited:
.....and the German finalist was Edinburgh based.

If you ever get a chance to see the trophy close up it is quite magnificent with a who's who of winners.
Also a few never again heard of's. I watched the final at Gullane one year and at the 9th hole the guy who had taken 42 shots was one up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top