Defending champions England have introduced a raft of news faces into their squad for the 2023 Home Internationals at Machynys next week (August 9-11).
Surrey’s Charlie Crockett (Addington Palace), Lincolnshire’s Will Hopkins (Belton Park) and Cheshire’s Matthew Dodd-Berry (Royal Liverpool) were today named in a much-changed side from last year’s squad. Only three of the players who helped England win the inaugural combined event in Ireland remain. This is partly due to a clash with the US Amateur, where the likes of John Gough and Barclay Brown will be competing, starting on August 14th.
England, who have won the Men’s Home Internationals 46 times since it was first staged in 1932, will be led by Men’s Squad Manager Gareth Jenkins. He said: “It will be a very competitive Home Internationals as the teams will be very equally matched but, as holders, we are confident we can challenge once again.”
Of the seven women named, Hertfordshire’s Sophia Fullbrook, 17, and Shropshire’s Isla McDonald-O’Brien, 16, will make their first England Women’s appearances at the Home Internationals while it will also be a full Home International debut for Somerset’s Patience Rhodes and Durham’s Jessica Hall.
Performance Manager for Women’s Golf, Becca Hembrough, said: “This group has a strong combination of experience, form and a big desire to win points for England. It will be a great opportunity for them all to come together as a team at this exciting event.”
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Crocket, Hopkins and Dodd-Berry have stood out thanks to a number of excellent results in America, backed up by strong finishes at the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Amateur Championship amongst other competitions. Also the Cheshire man recently won the Junior Dutch Open.
Four players who represented England Men in this month’s European Team Championship have been named, including Dylan Shaw-Radford (Huddersfield), Jack Bigham (Harpenden), Arron Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford) and James Claridge (Enville).
The final member of the men’s squad is newly-crowned England Boys champion Tyler Weaver, who also played in the event last year alongside Bigham and Edwards-Hill.
For the women, the sister duo of Mimi and Patience Rhodes add some vital experience to the women’s team, along with Rosie Belsham and Lottie Woad, who picked up silver medals with Patience for England Women at July’s European Team Championship.
Mimi won the NCAA Division One Women’s National Championship with Wake Forest in the USA earlier this year while her little sister and Woad are representing Europe against Asia-Pacific this week in the Patsy Hankins Trophy.
The Boys/Girls squads have also been announced with Lindrick staging that event next week (August 8-10). To view those teams click here.