Formby golf club ready for Amateur Open next week

Jun 10 2009 Formby Times

FORMBY Golf Club is teeing up for the Amateur next week - one of the greatest events on the golfing calendar, writes Harold Brough.

“We are delighted to host the championship and particularly in this our 125th anniversary year,” says Formby club captain James Harrocks.

“This will be the fourth time we have hosted the Amateur and I think this reflects the position of Formby in amateur golf throughout the world, that we are seen as one of the great traditional homes for this event.

“The final of the last Amateur here in 1984, our centenary year at Formby, when Jose Maria OlazabalŠdefeated Colin Montgomerie in the final is well remembered, two great players who went on to become world stars.

“This year we will again be seeing the best amateur golfers from across the world and certainly once again we will be seeing others who will be destined to become figures in world golf.

“The Formby greenkeeping staff, led by Paul Swift, have brought the course to the peak of magnificent condition and we are expecting big crowds and a truly memorable week, another great landmark in Formby’s history.

“Who knows, we might even have a local winner?”

The line-up includes Lancashire’s Matt Nixon of Ashton-under-Lyne, John Carroll from Huyton and Prescot, James Robinson of Southport and Ainsdale, Jonathan Hurst from Shaw Hill, Tom Boys from Royal Liverpool and Ian Winstanley who will be at his home links. But the main focus among golf fans from Merseyside, the north west and far beyond will be on Tommy Fleetwood from Formby Hall down the road, a member of the Walker Cup squad who finished second last year and looking for the win which will further boost his growing prospects of Walker Cup selection.

Fleetwood, like Nixon, is listed in the world top 100 amateurs.

While earlier national amateur competitions had been played at St. Andrews in the 1850s the tournament that became recognised as the first Amateur championship was held at Hoylake in 1885.

The proposal for the championship had been made the previous year by Thomas Owen Potter, secretary of Royal Liverpool with the aim of making the game more popular and improving golf standards of players.

A total of 44 players from 12 clubs entered the championship.

The championships have included two of golf greatest legends, born on Merseyside, John Ball and Harold Hilton.

Ball (1862-1940 was the son of the owner of the Royal Hotel at Hoylake before the golf links was established when there was a small racecourse on the land.

The links became his playground and he became one of the greatest amateurs of all time, winner of the Amateur eight times between 1888-1912.

Hilton (1869-1942) born just a few miles from Hoylake, also developed his golf game there and won the Amateur four times.