England Golf has named its six-player squad for the Octagonal Match at Costa Ballena Ocean Golf Club, Spain, from 22-25 January.
Eliot Baker, Ben Bolton, Daniel Hayes, Tom Osborne, Dylan Shaw-Radford and Charlie Rusbridge will be heading out to Spain for England’s first team event of the calendar year.
The tournament is a match play event in round robin format, with two groups of four. Each team plays one match per day, with the top team from each group contesting for the championship on the final day.
England have won the tournament six times since it was launched in 2001, winning the inaugural event, as well as in 2005, 2006, 2014, 2016 and 2020.
Men’s Performance Manager Ben Gorvett said: “It will be a competitive week with a host of talented players and coming up against nations from around Europe will always fuel a desire to perform well. It will test the players in a match play format which is a great way to kickstart 2025, a year that includes the World Amateur Team Championship and the Walker Cup.”
Meet the team
Eliot Baker, 22 (Tiverton, Devon)
– Won the 2024 West of England Amateur Match Play
– Won the 2023 South East of England Links Championship, and finished 3rd in 2024
– Finished 4th at 2024 Brabazon Trophy and enjoyed top-10 finish at 2024 Tillman Trophy
– Represented England in biennial 2024 international match with France
– In 2023, enjoyed top-10 finishes at Lytham Trophy, Bernard Darwin Salver and the R&A Student Tour Series Final, as well as a 3rd-place finish at BUCS Stirling International
Ben Bolton, 17 (Enville, Staffordshire)
Won the 2024 Spanish Boys’ Amateur Championship
– Helped England pick up the silver medal at 2024 European Boys’ Team Championship
– Part of the England team which won the 2024 Boys’ & Girls’ Home Internationals
– Represented GB&I in the 2024 Jacques Leglise Trophy
– Represented England at 2024 Junior Golf World Cup in Japan, 2024 biennial England v France international match, and 2023 Octagonal Match in Spain
– In 2024, 3rd-place finish at German Boys’ Open and Peter McEvoy Trophy, and top-10 finishes at Brabazon Trophy, Carris Trophy and Lytham Trophy
– In 2023, won European Young Masters in Slovakia, Faldo Series Grand Final (UAE), Faldo Series England Midlands Championship, and Edge Golf Championship 4 (Portugal)
Daniel Hayes, 18 (Bramhall, Cheshire)
Won the 2024 Carris Trophy and finished tied-2nd after going to a play-off in the 2024 English U18 Amateur Championship
– Won the 2024 Lancashire Links Trophy before finishing tied-2nd in the 2024 Brabazon Trophy, just a shot behind the winner, but did pick up the George Henriques Salver for being the leading under-20 player at the event
– Represented GB&I in 2024 Jacques Leglise Trophy
– In 2024, represented England in Octagonal Match in Spain, Junior Golf World Cup in Japan, and European Boys’ Team Championship
– Represented England at 2024 Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals
– Reached the quarter-finals of 2024 R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship
– Since July 2023, enjoyed 11 top-five finishes in USA, UK and Spain, including winning the Cheshire Cat twice, the Lancashire Links Trophy, and finishing 3rd at 2023 Spanish U18 International Championship
Tom Osborne, 22 (Lindrick, Yorkshire)
– Made the last 16 of 2024 R&A Amateur Championship and quarter-finals of 2024 English Amateur Championship
– Represented England at 2024 Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals
– Top-10 finish at 2024 Brabazon Trophy
– Helped Yorkshire to the Men’s County Finals title in September 2023
– In 2023, won the Duncan Putter and Yorkshire Amateur Championship, and had top-10 finishes at Welsh Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship, Danny Willett Salver, Hampshire Salver and Tillman Trophy
– Tied-13th finish at recent South American Amateur Championship
Dylan Shaw-Radford, 19 (Huddersfield, Yorkshire)
Winner of the 2024 Sunningdale Foursomes alongside Harley Smith
– Top-20 finish at 2024 European Amateur Championship and reached the last 16 of R&A Amateur Championship
– Represented England v France in biennial international match in 2024
– Represented GB&I in the 2023 Jacques Leglise Trophy
– Represented England in 2023 European Team Championship, Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals (winners), as well as international match against Spain
– Finished 2nd at 2023 Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship, behind only England’s John Gough
– Finished 7th at 2023 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan
– Represented Yorkshire in 2023 Boys’ County Finals where they finished runners-up
Charlie Rusbridge, 16 (Colne Valley, Essex)
Won the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship in December 2024
– In 2024, won English U18 Amateur Championship, Essex Amateur County Championship, Keating Trophy, and FET – Portugal
– Also finished 3rd at U18 French Open and 4th at Fairhaven Trophy in 2024
– Helped England pick up silver at the 2024 European Boys’ Team Championship and bronze at European Young Masters
– Helped Essex win the 2024 Men’s County Finals for the first time since 2009
– In 2023, won Estuary Trophy and finished 2nd in Essex Amateur County Championship
