England won the Girls’ & Boys’ Home Internationals for the fourth consecutive time after a fantastic week of golf at Conwy Golf Club in Wales.
In a tense final day against Scotland where the winner of the match would be crowned champions of the tournament, England edged the morning foursomes 4-3 before charging to a 9-5 win in the singles.
A 13-8 victory overall was enough to be crowned Girls’ & Boys Home Internationals champions yet again, meaning England have won all four events since the combined tournament began in 2021.
Day one of the tournament saw England complete a comprehensive 14.5-6.5 win over hosts Wales thanks to some brilliant morning foursomes performances and a commanding victory across the singles.
On day two the morning foursomes resulted in a 1.5 – 1.5 a draw with Ireland, but England lost the afternoon singles 4-2, to see Ireland take the match 5.5-3.5. Both Ireland, Scotland and England Girls all lost a match and so were tied on 2pts. It then went to win / lost match count and hence England won overall.
Day two’s match with Ireland was a tighter affair, with the foursomes being tied at 3.5-apiece, but a strong showing in the singles, particularly from the Boys, saw England win 8-6 and complete an overall 11.5-9.5 win.
On the final day, despite a strong start across the foursomes, Scotland battled back to level things at 3-3. It came down to the afternoon singles and it was England Girls who were on top form to secure a 5-1 win, while England Boys were pipped 3.5-4.5.
The results meant that England Girls’ and Boys’ team both won their respective titles on the basis of a win/loss count.
It is a sixth successive Home Internationals victory for England Girls, while for the Boys it is back to winning ways after Ireland’s victory in 2023, with England having won it from 2016-2022.
The star performers for England Boys were Henry Styles (Romford, 5 points from 6), Monty Holcombe (Walton Heath, 4.5 from 6) and Ben Bolton (Enville, 4 from 6), while Lauren Crump (Hill Valley, 4 points from 5), Sadie Adams (Royal Birkdale, 4 from 5) and Ellie Lichtenhein (Buckinghamshire, 4 from 5) were the standout players for England Girls.
England Golf Deputy Performance Director Stephen Burnett said: “It’s been a fantastic week from our youngsters in some difficult conditions at Conwy but they should all be very proud of their outstanding efforts.”
England Golf Women’s & Girls’ Assistant Performance Manager India Clyburn said: “The playing conditions have been tough all week with the wind and the course being so narrow, so accurate tee shots were needed. We knew what we needed to do this afternoon to win, and we’re just proud of the team for sticking in there and not giving up. It tops off a great year for the Girls’ programme.”
England Girls: Sadie Adams (Royal Birkdale, Lancashire), Lauren Crump (Hill Valley, Shropshire), Ellie Lichtenhein (Buckinghamshire), Charlotte Naughton (Longhirst Hall, Northumberland), Annabel Peaford (Walton Heath, Surrey), Matilde Santilli (Foxhills, Surrey), Amelia Wan (Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire).
England Boys: Ben Bolton (Enville, Staffordshire), Lewy Hayward (Marlborough, Wiltshire), Monty Holcombe (Walton Heath, Surrey), Oscar Lent (Walton Heath, Surrey), Sam Marshall (Elton Furze, Cambridgeshire), Charlie Rusbridge (Colne Valley, Essex), Brandon Skidmore (Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire), Henry Styles (Romford, Essex), Drew Sykes (Goodwood, Sussex).