England six seek elusive title at Costa Ballena
10th January 2014Reigning England boy champion Ben Amor (Marlborough, Wiltshire), the 2012 runner-up Bobby Keeble (Crowlands Heath, Essex) and current Tillman Trophy winner Paul Kinnear (Formby, Lancashire) have been named in the six-strong squad to represent England Golf in the annual Costa Ballena Quadrangular Tournament in Spain on 22nd – 24th January.
The other three members of the team in this annual four-nation tournament are Jamie Bower (Meltham, Yorkshire), Robert Burlison (Oxley Park, Staffordshire) and Adam Chapman (Windermere, Cumbria).
Amor 18, became boy champion when he won the Carris Trophy in a three-way playoff at West Lancashire last July, beating Italy’s Renato Paratore and Bath’s Jamie Li. Amor also won all six of his games for England in the Boys Home Internationals, finished third in the Welsh Open Youths Championship and fourth in the Canadian Junior Challenge and ended third on the Titleist/FootJoy 2013 England Golf Boys Order of Merit.
Bower, 20, finished seventh in the North of England Youths Championship when defending the trophy he won in 2012, while he also finished equal eighth in the Lee Westwood Trophy, while Burlison, 18, won all six of his games in helping Staffordshire to a maiden victory in the Boys County Championship. He also finished runner-up in the Kenako South Africa World Juniors and the South of England Boys Championship.
Chapman, 18, made his England debut in the European Boys Team Championships in Scotland and was also capped for the Boys Home Internationals. He enjoyed two second places last year, in the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters and the Junior County Champions Tournament, and finished tied third in the McEvoy Trophy to secure fifth place on the Boys Order of Merit.
Keeble, 19, the current Essex champion, lost a marathon five-hole playoff for the Carris Trophy in 2012 and finished tied sixth last year. However, he won the County Champions Tournament in 2013, finished runner-up in the Western Province under 23 Stroke Play Championship in South Africa, reached the quarter finals of the British Boys and was capped in the Boys Home Internationals.
Kinnear, 20, a former Lancashire boy champion, won the Tillman Trophy at Burnham & Berrow and was a member of the victorious Lancashire squad in the County Championship at Minchinhampton. He also finished equal sixth in the Lytham Trophy and tied ninth in the Scottish Open Stroke Play.
The Costa Ballena competition is played on a round robin basis over three days against teams from Finland, Germany and hosts Spain, each match comprising three foursomes and six singles.
After six runners-up finishes, including last year when they lost by half a point, England will hope to land the title for the first time since 2006.
England went into the final day a year ago in pole position after victories over Spain and Germany and needed only a draw with the Finns to take the title. But they went down 4-5 which allowed Spain to take the title.