dec17 yorkskids
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Six Yorkshire teenagers will travel to Spain next month in a bid to secure glory for England in the Junior Team Home Nations Championship.
Willow Valley Golf’s junior members will represent their country at the prestigious La Manga course on January 17-22 after qualifying for the Under 18s event by winning the English Inter-Club tournament, a national junior competition which attracted teams from over 1,200 clubs.
Lewis Howell, Tom Calvert, George Branch, Ali Butters, Tom Brancker and Tom Pinder were the first Yorkshire side to win the national event with a thrilling victory in October’s final at The Oxfordshire Golf Club, the team from Brighouse, near Huddersfield, clinching top spot by an impressive five strokes.
Willow Valley Golf’s success has thrilled the local community and the team, who will be kitted out for the occasion by the club as well as local clothing companies Stromberg and Glenbrae, will have a sizeable contingent of supporters behind them when they tee off against Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The tournament is also due to be screened by Sky Sports, but Willow Valley Golf’s junior organiser Chris Nuttall is confident the team will not be fazed by the cameras or the tag of underdogs in La Manga.
He said: “Our professionals are already preparing the team for the tournament and I am sure they will be in the right frame of mind.
“We might be underdogs due to our higher handicaps, but we have already defied the odds by beating some established clubs in the nationals. They are a great bunch of lads who believe in each other and want to go and do the best for their county and their country. “
The youngsters’ achievements are a massive boost for Willow Valley GC which also hosts the Yorkshire PGA Championship in June and was voted one of the best new courses in the British Isles.
It boasts three fine courses in Willow Valley, Pine Valley and Fountain Ridge – built to exacting U.S.G.A standards. Playing facilities include a 24 bay all weather driving range, a three-hole floodlit Academy Course and practice putting areas.
