ELIZABETH MALLETT GAINS FIRST WOMEN'S CAP

England women and girls’ teams named for    

European championships next month

England Golf has named the teams which will challenge for medals at the European ladies’ and girls’ team championships in July.
The ladies’ team includes three Curtis Cup players: Gabriella Cowley, Bronte Law and Charlotte Thomas. Elizabeth Mallett will make her first international appearance at ladies’ level and the team will be completed by the experienced internationals, Hayley Davis and Meghan MacLaren. The reserve is Bethan Popel.
The ladies’ championship takes place at Ljubljana Golf Club, Slovenia, from 8-12 July.
The girls’ team includes new caps India Clyburn, Inci Mehmet and Hollie Muse. They will play alongside Alice Hewson, Sophie Keech and Sophie Lamb, while Sammy Fuller is the reserve.
The girls’ championship will be played at Skalica Golf Club, Slovakia, also from 8-12 July.
At both events, the teams will play two rounds of stroke play to determine their places in the knockout flights. The leading eight teams go in to the championship flight to contest the medals. Last year, when England Golf hosted the ladies’ event at Fulford, York, and the girls’ event was played in Sweden, both teams finished fourth.

The players:

Ladies’ team

Gabriella Cowley, 18, (Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire) was selected for the recent Curtis Cup match, having been runner-up in this year’s Portuguese amateur championship, helped to win the Nations Cup for England at the Helen Holm Scottish stroke play championship, and finished eighth in the Welsh open stroke play.  She won the England Golf girls’ order of merit for 2013.

Hayley Davis, 21, (Ferndown, Dorset) is a past winner of the English women’s and girls’ championships. She is a student at Baylor University, Texas, has won on the US women’s college circuit and was 10th in the 2014 national women’s college championship, with a final round 65. She has represented GB and I in the Vagliano Trophy at Chantilly last year.

Bronte Law, 19, (Bramhall, Cheshire, Image © Leaderboard Photography) has just played her second Curtis Cup match for GB and I. She has also represented GB and I in the 2013 Vagliano Trophy match and Europe in both the Junior Solheim Cup and Junior Ryder Cup matches. She is a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has won on the US women’s college circuit.

Meghan MacLaren, 20, (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire), helped to win the Nations Cup for England at the St Rule Trophy and finished third in the individual event. She was the 2013 Irish stroke play champion and has won three times on the US women’s college circuit, where she represents Florida International University.

Elizabeth Mallett, 19, (Sutton Coldfield Ladies’, Warwickshire) is a past winner of the English girls’ championship. She is now a student at the University of North Carolina and secured her first win on the US women’s college circuit this year. She also had three other top ten finishes in the 2013/14 season.  

Charlotte Thomas, 21, (Singapore and Surrey) played in the recent Curtis Cup match and will be making her debut as an England international. Last summer she won the English mid-amateur championship, one week after losing a play-off for the English stroke play title. She is a student at the University of Washington in Seattle and has won on the US college circuit.

Bethan Popel, 18, (Long Ashton, Gloucestershire) helped England win the Nations Cup at the St Rule Trophy, among a string of good results this season which have included seventh place in the recent women’s Welsh stroke play, 12th place in the Helen Holm Scottish stroke play and 11th in the Portuguese amateur.

Girls’ team

India Clyburn, 17, (Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire) follows in the footsteps of her sister, Holly, who was an England international and is now a winner on the LET. She is the Lincolnshire champion and this season has been runner-up in the Critchley Salver, fifth in the Harder Hall Invitational in the USA and seventh in the Helen Holm Scottish stroke play.

Alice Hewson, 16, (Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire) won the Critchley Salver at Sunningdale and went straight on to take the U18 prize at the St Rule Trophy where she also helped England win the Nations Cup and was fourth overall. Last year she was in the winning England team at the European Young Masters and the Girls’ Home Internationals, won the Scottish U16 open stroke and the girls’ title at the Telegraph BMW Golf Championship.

Sophie Keech, 18, (Parkstone, Dorset) has just won the Astor Salver at The Berkshire and was leading amateur in the Roehampton Gold Cup. She won the English girls’ championship last summer, as well as the English schools' and South West girls’ titles and was a member of England’s winning team at the Girls’ Home Internationals.

Sophie Lamb, 16, (Clitheroe, Lancashire) successfully defended the girls’ title at the Fairhaven Trophies this year, with a record low score of nine-under par and was third overall in the mixed field. She was leading points scorer in England’s winning team at the 2013 Girls’ Home Internationals and represented GB and I in the 2013 Junior Vagliano Trophy match at Chantilly.

Inci Mehmet, 17, (Wentworth, Surrey) has amassed a series of good results this season, including fourth place in the Portuguese championship, fifth in the Irish open stroke play and fourth in the Critchley Salver. She and her partner were runners-up in the Sunningdale foursomes.

Hollie Muse, 14, (West Lancashire), was runner-up in the girls’ event at the Fairhaven Trophies and tied eighth at the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews. She is a past winner of the English U13 championship and last year won the Royal Birkdale ladies’ scratch trophy. She has just become the youngest-ever Lancashire ladies’ champion.

Sammy Fuller, 15, (Roehampton, Surrey) was third in this season’s Scottish U16 strokeplay and 6th in the Irish U18 stroke play. She was in England’s winning team at the Girls’ Home Internationals and represented GB and I in the 2013 Junior Vagliano Trophy match.