ENGLAND BY FAR EUROPE'S BEST 

PRODUCER OF YOUNG TALENT

FROM GOLFWEEK.COM
By Alistair Tait

Golfweek writer Lance Ringler’s excellent anatomy of American  college golf proves England is tops when it comes to providing international players for NCAA Division I teams. It comes as no surprise.
Golf may have been born in Scotland, but England is by far Europe’s best producer of young talent. Chalk that up to a lot of people behind the scenes who create a competitive environment for young players to develop their skills.
According to Ringler’s study, England is second only to Canada in providing players to the NCAA Division I programs. No surprise there considering The Great White North’s proximity to the United States.
While Canada has 196 representatives in Division I schools, England has 109. The breakdown is 75/34 between male and female players.
Of the European nations, Sweden comes second with 72, France has 56, Spain 49 and Germany 41. The Home of Golf, Scotland, comes in joint 10th with Australia with 31 players. Ireland has nine while Wales provides six.
Scan the European Tour money list and the numbers my colleague Ringler has come up are equal in the professional game. There were 30 Englishmen among the top 110 players on last year’s European Tour money list. (The top 110 each year keep cards for the next season) 
South Africa was next highest with 11, with Spain and France joint third on eight. Scotland was one of three nations along with Denmark and Sweden with seven representatives each.
I count 12 players under the age of 30 among those 30 English players, with 24-year-old Tommy Fleetwood leading the way at 19th on last year’s money list.
Scan England Golf’s fixture list for 2015 and it helps explain the number of strong English players. You’ll struggle to find a free weekend from April to March, with a plethora of high caliber tournaments. 
Throw in the added bonus of England Golf sending elite amateurs around the world for winter training and competition, and you’ll find another reason why England continues to churn out good players.
The United States college golf system benefits inadvertently from the England Golf program. 
Since only so many players make England teams (there are 12 players in the England men’s A team), then those who don’t quite make teams are forced to find other avenues to hone the skills needed to play at the top level.
The alternative is the U.S. college golf system. I’d argue it’s the better alternative since it can give players the one thing being a member of an England team can’t provide: a college degree.
Scotland also has its own system of funding amateurs. In fact, Daniel Young recently became the third Scot to win the South African Amateur Championship in the last five years.
Some reading this will say England should produce more quality players because it has a population of around 53 million compared to just over five million Scots. 
I’ve never bought into the more bodies more good players argument. New Zealand is the best rugby nation in the world despite a population of just over four million. The Netherlands has reached three World Cup finals with a population of around 16 million.
There are many critics of the way golf is run in England, but you can’t argue with the numbers. The Division I figures are testament to those unnamed people who put in the hours to give English kids the chance to develop their talents.

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