A TOTAL of five golfers from Warwickshire have earned a place in England Golf’s West Midlands regional squad.
The five players – Joshua Gardner (Coventry), Arianna Virik (Coventry Hearsall), Maisie Halstead (Kenilworth), Monty Fincher (Stratford-upon-Avon) and Kamraan Arastu (Copt Heath) – form part of a 20-player squad.
The squad comprises 10 boys and 10 girls.
England Golf’s regional coaching programmes aims to provide youngsters with a pathway in the sport from county to national level.
England Golf deputy performance director Steve Burnett said: “England Golf aims to support a strong, aligned and inclusive performance pathway from club to national level, in order to identify, recruit, develop, support and retain world-class golfers capable of performing and winning at the highest levels of amateur golf.
“The Regional Performance Programme is a vital part of the pathway and it bridges the gap for young players showing promise at county level to push on and improve sufficiently to go on and play for England in the near future.
“The Regional Squads have helped produce a large number of world-class male and female golfers while creating life-long affiliations with the game. At every level of the pathway we aim to provide fun, engaging and individualised opportunities to help the player as a person and a golfer.”
The West Midlands won the girls’ region of the year for 2024/25, with the area recognised for a season of hard work, impressive results and outstanding player development.
Throughout the year, West Midlands players achieved significant handicap improvements and produced standout performances on the national stage.
The highlights saw Serafima Taylor win the English Girls’ under-16 title while Virik earned two England under-16 call-ups with the region represented on the internarional stage.
The coaching team of Jason Davies, Ashley Jones and Ben Langdown created a positive and high-performance environment for the young golfers to thrive.
