By Kent Gray
Sometimes in golf you just have to doff your cap to your opponent.

That was Josh Hill’s lot on the opening day of the Jacques Léglise Trophy in Sweden where the Trump Dubai member found himself beaten twice.

First out for Great Britain and Ireland in Friday’s foursomes, Hill and team-mate Jack Bigham were edged 2&1 by Europe’s Tiger Christensen and Yannick Malik before Malik repeated the scoreline in his singles stoush with Hill.

Josh Hill and Jack Bigham of Great Britain and Ireland react during the morning foursome matches at Falsterbo Golf Club on August 27, 2021.

Not that the 17-year-old MENA Tour winner could grumble at his afternoon reverse; Malik was an impressive five-under the card on picturesque Falsterbo Golf Club when their match ended.

 

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A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb)

The good news for GB&I is they are just a point behind, 6½-5½ heading into the final day of the annual U-18 matches . Better still Hill and Bigham will get a chance at foursomes revenue early on Saturday as they are again paired against Christensen and Malik in the second match out at 8.10am local time (10.10am UAE time). Nine singles matches will follow Saturday afternoon.

It was a frustrating day for Hill.

GB&I last won the Jacques Léglise Trophy in 2018 at Kytäjä Golf, Finland thanks to a 15½-9½ win and lead the overall series 29-13 with one match tied. The Continent of Europe has won seven times since 1995, including the last fixture in 2019 when they triumphed 5½ – 9½ at Aldeburgh Golf Club in England, but the GB&I boys seem confident as this fun video from the European Golf Association highlights:

 

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And how about Falsterbo Golf Club. Wow:

 

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The post Hill, GB&I seek Saturday bounce back at Jacques Léglise Trophy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Josh Hill’s at times heartbreaking but mostly highly encouraging summer campaign in the UK has been rewarded with selection to the Great Britain and Ireland team for this month’s prestigious Jacques Léglise Trophy.

The 17-year-old Trump Dubai member has been named in the nine-man GB&I lineup to meet Europe in the annual U-18 boys international fixture at Falsterbo Golf Club in Sweden on August 27-28.

It is further validation for Hill who is not, but could quite easily (on paper at least), be confused with new GB&I team-mate Joshua Hill of Ireland. The Dubai-based Hill, who became the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event when he captured the MENA Tour’s  Al Ain Open in 2019, has just helped England win the Home Internationals, no doubt sealing his Jacques Léglise Trophy selection by going unbeaten in six matches at Woodhall Spa earlier this month.

It continued an increasingly impressive UK summer for Hill who narrowly missed out on a playoff at the St Andrews Links Trophy (4th) in early June before reaching the last 32 of the 126th Amateur Championship at Nairn and the quarterfinals of the English Amateur in Yorkshire. He also reached the round of 16 at last week’s R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship, won by Jack Bigham, at Royal Cinque Ports on the Kent coast.

Next up is the Brabazon Trophy, the English Men’s Open Amateur Stokeplay Championship which opens at Ganton Golf Club today.

The Jacques Léglise Trophy debuted in 1958 and ran until its suspension in 1966. It was rejuvenated in 1977 in memory of Jacques Leglise, a past French champion who served as President of the French Golf Federation and of the European Golf Association.

GB&I dominated the early encounters losing only three times before 1995 but Europe has since won seven matches including the last fixture in 2019 when they triumphed 5½ – 9½ at Aldeburgh Golf Club in England. GB&I last won in 2018 at Kytäjä Golf, Finland thanks to a 15½-9½ win and leads the overall series 29-13 with one match tied.

The nine-player GB&I team is:
Cameron Adam (18, Captain) – Royal Burgess, Scotland
Daniel Bullen (16) – Auchterarder, Scotland
Jack Bigham (17) – Harpenden, England
Archie Finnie (16) – Royal Burgess, Scotland
Connor Graham (14) – Blairgowrie, Scotland
Josh Hill (17) – Trump International Dubai, England
Joshua Hill (18) – Galgorm Castle, Ireland
Ruben Lindsay (17) – Turnberry, Scotland
Harley Smith (16) – The Rayleigh Club, England

The GB&I team is selected by The R&A and the Continent of Europe side by the European Golf Association.

The format for the Jacques Léglise Trophy is four foursomes matches each morning with eight singles matches on the afternoon of Friday 27 August and nine singles matches on the afternoon of Saturday 28 August.

The post Josh Hill’s stock rises further with Jacques Leglise Trophy selection appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
A week after teaming up to help England to R&A Girls’ and Boys’ Home Internationals glory, Dubai-based Josh Hill and Jack Bigham are back to being very friendly rivals.

So far at the (British) Boys’ Amateur Championship, Bigham has the upper hand, having secured medallist honours after the strokeplay phase of the U-18 event at Royal Cinque Ports on the Kent coast.

The Harpenden member fired rounds of 69-67 for a 136, eight-under-par aggregate, three clear of Scot Jamie Mann. Hill wasn’t too far behind, finishing tied 6th on one-under143 following rounds of 71-72.

The top qualifiers from the stroke play rounds at The #BoysAmateur ?️

For the final results follow the link here ? https://t.co/hmMnwPfIGY pic.twitter.com/0fYmheTLDZ

— The R&A (@RandA) August 11, 2021

The Trump Dubai International Golf Club member was eventually seeded 9th for the matchplay phase and will meet another Englishman, Sam Johnson (Astbury) in today’s round of 64.

Bigham, who faces German Morris Schiefner, last week partnered Hill to three foursome wins at the Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa.

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Jack Bigham and Josh Hill during the R&A Girls’ and Boys’ Home Internationals at the Bracken Course, Woodhall Spa Golf Course on August 6, 2021, in Woodhall Spa, United Kingdom.

“I am happy, I just tried to carry on the form I had from the back nine yesterday and it worked. I holed a few nice putts on the front nine and just played solidly to be honest,’’ Bigham told randa.org.

Bigham now knows he’s got a target on his back.

“Obviously I have played well, and I will just try to forget about where I have finished. Matchplay is just completely different to strokeplay, but yes hopefully I will just carry on the good golf that I have played and see how I go.’’

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