Three Irish on Jacques Leglise team
Mark Power (Kilkenny) on his way to winning the 2016 Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship at Castle. Picture by Pat Cashman
Mark Power, Kevin LeBlanc and Thomas Mulligan have been named in the nine-strong Great Britain and Ireland team to face the Continent of Europe in the Jacques Leglise Trophy match at Prince’s in Kent later this month.
GB&I team for the match on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 August is:
- Toby Briggs (16) Dunston Hall, England
- Alex Fitzpatrick (17) Hallamshire, England
- Harry Goddard (16) Hanbury Manor, England
- Kevin LeBlanc (18) The Island, Ireland
- Thomas Mulligan (17) Co Louth, Ireland
- Marco Penge (Captain) (18) Golf at Goodwood, England
- Mark Power (16) Kilkenny, Ireland
- Jamie Stewart (16) Old Ranfurly, Scotland
- Charlie Strickland (17) Ham Manor, England
The GB&I team, which will be managed by Peter McEvoy OBE, will be looking to retain the Jacques Leglise Trophy for the fourth consecutive match after last year’s contest at Royal Dornoch finished12 ½ - 12 ½.
GB&I won a close contest by 12½ - 11½ at Barsebäck in Sweden in 2014 and achieved a 15-9 victory at Royal St David's in Wales in 2013. GB&I has won 37 matches overall compared to ten for the Continent of Europe.
England international Marco Penge will return as captain of the team and is joined from the 2015 team by Thomas Mulligan, who was runner-up to Mark Power in the Irish Boys’ Championship in June. It was Power’s second win of the season after he claimed the Peter McEvoy Trophy in April. The third Irishman in the team is Kevin LeBlanc, who won the Junior Open in 2014.
Among the others in the five-strong English contingent who will be looking to make their mark in the match on the Kent coast will be boy international Harry Goddard, who won the South East Junior Championship in May, and Alex Fitzpatrick, younger brother of two-time winner on the European Tour Matthew.
The format for the Jacques Leglise Trophy match is four foursomes ties each morning, eight singles matches on the afternoon of Friday 26 August and nine singles matches on the afternoon of Saturday 27 August.
