It was a weekend of remarkable success for England Golf at the Euros, with the Girls’ team clinching their first European Girls’ Team Championship in nearly two decades at Gothenburg’s Golf Club in Sweden.
The Boys’ team followed suit with a silver, and the Women’s team rounded off the medal haul with a bronze.
The Girls’ journey to victory was nothing short of extraordinary. They breezed through the match play stages, defeating Denmark 5-2 and Italy 4-3 to earn a spot in Saturday’s final.
Despite a challenging start against Germany, where they were down 2-0 after the morning foursomes, the Girls rallied spectacularly. They won four of their five singles matches in the afternoon, securing a 4.5-2.5 victory.
Assistant Women’s & Girls’ Performance Manager India Clyburn was full of praise:
“The team clearly played well all week but the highlight has to be the comeback on the final day.
From losing both foursomes to going on to win in the final, it took immense steeliness and self-belief, and an ability to hit great shots under big pressure.
It was even more impressive as our original flight to Finland was cancelled so we only had one practice round heading into the competition!
The Girls are now part of history and have shown future teams that England can win at this level.”
Clyburn added, “It’s now five gold medals for the female programme in the last seven years of European Championships that England have competed in.
This is an incredible achievement and one that England Golf should be very proud of. We have a world-class coaching team and we can’t thank them enough for everything they do to support these performances and the development of these young women.”
The Boys’ team also shone brightly, earning a silver medal in the European Boys’ Team Championship at Diamond Club in Austria.
Their path to the final included a 4.5-2.5 win over Finland and a 4-1 triumph against Sweden, despite a shortened competition due to adverse weather. They faced a tough French team in the final, ultimately falling 3.5-1.5.
Men’s Performance Manager Stephen Burnett was upbeat about the Boys’ performance: “It’s another fantastic European campaign for the Boys, three medals in three years now post-covid, after several years before that since earning a top-three spot.
It also means it’s three years on the bounce that we’ve qualified for the Junior Golf World Cup in Japan too, and it’s the first time for the girls, and both teams will be competing together in Japan 2025.”
The Women’s team also delivered a strong performance, securing a bronze medal at the European Ladies’ Team Championship held at Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo in Spain.
They dominated Italy with a 6-1 victory before narrowly losing 4-3 to France in the semi-finals. They rebounded with a 5-2 win over Ireland to claim third place.
Women’s Performance Manager Becca Hembrough lauded their efforts: “(Women’s National Coach) Steve Robinson and I are really proud of the Women’s team and their resilience.
They dug in across seven days on a very physically demanding course in 35-degree heat.
Everyone contributed to qualify strongly and despite taking a knock in the semi-finals, they bounced back when energy levels were low to beat a fighting Irish team. It’s great to be heading home with a medal.”
Meanwhile, the Men’s team finished seventh in the European Team Championship at Royal Park, Italy.
They battled through the match play stages, facing defeats against the Netherlands and Italy, but triumphed over Spain in their final match.
Burnett reflected on the Men’s campaign: “The men can take heart with qualification into the top flight again in a competitive tournament and despite not finishing as highly as they wanted, it was an important victory in the final match against Spain.
We are wishing both Matthew Dodd-Berry and Dominic Clemons the best of luck this week as they now head to Troon for The Open.”
The triumphs of England’s teams at the Euros underscore their formidable presence in European golf, demonstrating resilience, skill, and a winning spirit across all levels of competition.
