McElhinney sole Irish selection

WALKER CUP: Brian McElhinney is Ireland's sole representative on the Britain and Ireland team to take on the United States in the Walker Cup at Chicago Golf Club, Illinois, on August 13th and 14th.

The North West golfer, who won the recent British Amateur Championship, was a shoo-in for the team but the hopes of Irish teenage sensation Rory McIlroy, Darren Crowe and Michael McGeady were dashed following yesterday's team announcement.

It had been mooted Ireland's failure to qualify for the top tier at the recent European Team Championships was costly but Britain and Ireland captain Garth McGimpsey dismissed that notion. "The team was cut and dried prior to that tournament and it really didn't matter that Ireland failed to qualify for the top flight.

"We had made up our minds prior to that so no one lost out as a result of those championships. It would have been unfair had we left it that late. It would have been close in terms of the reserves and Irish players were certainly discussed; Rory (McIlroy) would have come into contention."

McElhinney's selection is thoroughly merited not just because of his British Amateur title but because in the last 18 months he has been one of the outstanding golfers this side of the Atlantic. At one stage last year he held three titles, the European Amateur Individual Strokeplay (won in 2003), the Irish Close Championship and the North of Ireland Championship.

The 22-year-old from Buncrana has played 11 singles for Ireland in team golf and never lost. Only Padraig Harrington could claim a better amateur record.

The Donegal man will tee it up in the European Tour's Scottish Open this week before heading for the British Open.

Gary Wolstenholme and Nigel Edwards, both members of the 2003 Walker Cup team that successfully defended the Cup at Ganton, join McElhinney on the team.

One player likely to command the headlines is English teenager Oliver Fisher, who at 16, will be the youngest player ever to play in the biennial Walker Cup, eclipsing Justin Rose (1997), Ronan Rafferty (1981) and Peter Baker (1985), all of whom were 17.

When the match is played next month, Fisher will be 16 years and 11 months exactly, one month and 10 days younger than Justin Rose when the latter played at Quaker Ridge in 1997. Fisher is a product of English Golf Union coaching and has also been a member of the Nick Faldo Junior Series.

In 2004 he won the under-21 section at Burhill by four shots with a score of 133 and the English Boys under-16 title at Didsbury. This year he was runner-up in the Brabazon Trophy but saved his best performance for the British Amateur Championship where he reached the semi-finals only to lose to the eventual winner McElhinney.

Peter McEvoy, chairman of the selection committee of the R&A said: "At the beginning of the season we lost a few players to the professional ranks and I was concerned about the strength of the side. However, many players have improved enormously and have had successful seasons as a consequence. This team, I believe, is a very, very strong one."

Bangor man McGimsey, who will lead the side for the second time and hopes to secure a fourth successive win in the contest, is looking forward to the contest.

"I think there is more pressure on the Americans with them on a losing streak. We have a very good team."

The Britain and Ireland side have a training camp in Spain before arriving in the USA on the Saturday prior to the match.