Spain-based Marina Joyce Moreno will fly the flag for Ireland when the Junior Vagliano Trophy gets underway on Friday at Blairgowrie.
The junior team matches between GB&I and the Continent of Europe are being held at the Perthshire venue this week on the 26th and 27th of August.
Joyce Moreno is Ireland’s sole representative on the side. Based at Club de Golf Llavaneras, about 40k outside of Barcelona, the teenager finished fifth at the Irish Girls Close Championship this year while also running out a six shot winner at the Mediterranean Golf Championship after recovering from an opening 80 with rounds of 68 and 69 to claim the title back in May.
England’s Amelia Wan, who reached the quarter-finals of the R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship at Carnoustie, is also among those included in the Junior Vagliano Trophy side where Roscommon’s Olivia Costello is in reserve.
The GB&I team for the Junior Vagliano Trophy is as follows:
- Grace Crawford, West Links Junior, Scotland
- Rosie Bee Kim, Buckinghamshire, England
- Marina Joyce Moreno, Club de Golf Llavaneras, Ireland
- Isla McDonald-O’Brien, Shrewsbury, England
- Amelia Wan, Sherwood Forest, England
- Maggie Whitehead, Close House, England
First reserve: Roisin Scanlon, Woburn, Ireland
Second reserve: Olivia Costello, Roscommon, Ireland
The Junior Vagliano Trophy, the under-16 girls’ match, was first played in 2011 with the Continent of Europe winning all six editions so far.
The players will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Solheim Cup stars Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen who have all formerly competed in the match.
The Junior Vagliano Trophy has historically been played biennially alongside the Vagliano Trophy but is now played every year – in even years staged with the Jacques Léglise Trophy, and in odd years with the Vagliano Trophy.
The Jacques Léglise Trophy
No Irish were selected for the GB&I Jacques Léglise Trophy that includes Scotland’s Connor Graham, winner of the R&A Junior Open last month, who competes on his home course, alongside compatriot Niall Shiels Donegan, who was the only player to emerge with a 100% record from his six matches in the recent R&A Boys’ Home Internationals.
The GB&I team for the Jacques Léglise Trophy is as follows:
- Josh Berry, Doncaster, England
- Connor Graham, Blairgowrie, Scotland
- Josh Hill, Trump International Dubai, England
- Frank Kennedy, Trump National Jupiter, England
- Oliver Mukherjee, Gullane, Scotland
- Dylan Shaw-Radford, Huddersfield, England
- Niall Shiels Donegan, Meadow Club, Scotland
- Harley Smith, The Rayleigh Club, England
- Tyler Weaver, Bury St Edmunds, England
First reserve: Sam Easterbrook, Olton, England
Second reserve: Caolan Burford, Rhuddlan, Wales
The Jacques Léglise Trophy, the annual under-18 boys’ match, was first played in 1958. The Continent of Europe is bidding to secure a third straight victory in the match for the first time after victories at Aldeburgh, England in 2019 and Falsterbo, Sweden in 2021.
A number of high-profile players have also competed on both sides of the match in the past including José María Olazábal, Luke Donald, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland.
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