Here come England’s magnificent eleven
It’s a remarkable era, with a record 11 players chasing Augusta glory
Lee Westwood might have been stretching it a bit last week when he said it was something england should be shouting about from the rooftops. But not by much. Talking about over the fence with the neighbours, or over drinks, certainly.
From only two players in the field as recently as 2002, england will field a magnificent Masters XI at augusta this week. Fresh from englishmen finishing first and second last year (Danny Willett and Westwood), the nation will have players here, there and everywhere at augusta this time — with a record representation at the season’s first major for a country apart from the Us.
Typically, the superpowers outside the host nation have been australia and south africa, but this year their combined tally (nine) doesn’t match england’s.
What makes the total still more remarkable, at a tournament which gives a lifetime exemption to past champions, is that all 11 have met the stringent qualification criteria on form. sir Nick Faldo, who would have taken the number to 12, does not take up his exemption because of television commitments.
How did it happen that there will be so many players you can cheer on from the sofa on terrestrial and satellite television this weekend? Let’s take a look through the reasons.
ENGLAND GOLF
THERE was a time when promising youngsters would slip through the net, but not anymore. From an early age, anyone who shows promise at club level is invited for an assessment at county level.
‘We have a really focused programme, especially when they get to the national level,’ said former Walker Cup player and captain Nigel edwards, who has been england Golf’s director of coaching since 2011. ‘We send players all over the world and use our funds diligently. But that is just the end product of what we do.
‘From the bottom up we try to create something that is both inspirational and aspirational. For example, we have something called the a squad, which sits between the developmental squads and the national squads. Because there are so many players coming through the clubs and the counties it would be easy to miss some, but the a squad plugs the gap.’
The vast majority of the 11 who will play this week benefited from these schemes, including Willett, Chris Wood, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and one who still does benefit — scott Gregory, the reigning British amateur champion.
WORLD CLASS COACHES
IT’s NOT just the players who are making waves in the global game. How about the men behind the scenes putting in all the hard yards? In Pete Cowen, Mike Walker, putting coach Phil Kenyon and physio steve McGregor, england boast a quartet that has had a profound impact on the sport at the highest level.
It’s not only the english players who have benefited from their methods and wisdom, of course, but most are on record as saying they wouldn’t be the golfers they are without the input of one or more of the dazzling foursome.
Walker is Cowen’s star pupil turned leading coach in his own right and between them the pair look after Westwood, Willett, Wood and Fitzpatrick. Walker also helps out at england Golf.
Kenyon is now the putting guru of choice for virtually all the european elite, including Justin Rose, Fleetwood and andy sullivan. McGregor is the man who has turned Rory McIlroy into the perfect golfing athlete but he has also worked with the likes of Westwood.
PAST ENGLISH CHAMPIONS
THERE might not have been an english cavalry charging up and down the augusta hills in the past but there have always been inspirational role models, from Faldo to Westwood, to the heroics of Ian Poulter at the Ryder Cup and Luke Donald reaching the summit and becoming world No 1.
Faldo’s three green jacket wins certainly had a significant impact on Westwood, who played a leading part in sullivan becoming a top pro. The similarities in the games of Donald and Fitzpatrick are obvious. and on it goes.
FRIENDLY RIVALRIES
LIKE every other sport, nothing works quite like competition, and the 10 english professionals competing at augusta are feeding off each other’s achievements. ‘I feel like I am the daddy of them all,’ said 43-year- old Westwood last week. He has plainly been given a new lease of life in trying to keep up with his compatriots.
at the top of the tree we have Rose, who acknowledged the impact the next generation is having on his game by telling
Sportsmail: ‘I know I’ve got a target on my back for the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton but that just adds to the hunger. It’s brilliant they’re at the top of the game now but it makes me conscious of this five-year window I’ve got until I reach 40 and I want to ramp things up.’
There are four englishmen ranked 14-17 in the world, with Rose currently heading the list, but you can be sure 15th-ranked Hatton sees it as his next small
milestone to overtake his compatriot.
then there is Willett’s victory here last year. What a marvellous boost that was for the likes of Fitzpatrick, Hatton, Wood, Sullivan and Fleetwood.
It took away the mystique of winning the Masters and showed them a player of their age, who they grew up with and can compete with, could win the biggest prizes of all.
IS IT CYCLICAL?
WELL, the bad news is that it could be. Look at the whole of Ireland, down to two representatives this year (McIlroy and Shane Lowry) from five just two years ago. there will certainly not be many years in the future when England has so many participants, if any. But the good news is the dark days of 2001, when Westwood was England’s only player in the world’s top 100, are long gone. Six of the 11 are still in their 20s. the conveyor belt so successfully run by England Golf shows no signs of slowing, and there’s plenty more who have the quality to make it to the Masters in the future. of the top 100 on the race to Dubai last year, no fewer than 20 were English. And look at the names who haven’t made it this time — poulter, Donald and Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston. Willett ended a 20- year drought at the Masters for Englishmen last year but it surely won’t be another 20 years before the next winner.
P.S CAN AN ENGLISHMAN WIN IT AGAIN?
CERTAINLY. rose has done everything at the Masters bar win over the years and is more than capable of filling in the missing piece with a good week on the greens. Fitzpatrick and Hatton look like major winners of the future, although this tournament might come too soon for them. Casey has the ability and what about Fleetwood, Wood, Sullivan and Fisher? they’re all capable of a top five finish, at least.
And then there’s the defending champion.
It would be nice to see Willett relaunch his career this week, wouldn’t it? He’s far too good a player not to make future contributions to this glorious era for English golf.