Amateur golfers to receive university scholarships – England Golf
England Golf has announced scholarships for amateur players studying in England’s universities. The scholarships, worth £ 3000, will be awarded on annual basis to the talented amateur players, enrolled in university programs across the country.
The news was welcomed by many players who are hit hard by the rising costs of education in England.
Many amateurs find it difficult to continue playing after the recent rise in tuition fees and the overall cost of living in England. Some of the best choose to go to America to study and play golf there.
The American universities have a long and well established tradition of supporting amateur players and many English players have taken advantage of the generous scholarships and opportunities in the US.
Commenting on the players’ relocation to the US, Nigel Edwards, England Golf’s Director of Coaching said, “Many of our better players that wish to continue their studies are often successful in attracting scholarships from U.S. colleges and compete successfully
in the NCAA divisions”.
According to England Golf, the scholarships are a bid to retain the golf talent in England and nurture it so that England could become a force to be reckoned with on international amateur golf circuits.
England Gold, the governing body of all amateur golf in England, has long worried about the lack of home-grown amateurs.
Many of the players who used to be in the top slots of England’s amateur golf have now moved out to play in NCAA, the American college level sports circuits.
The recent increase in education costs has affected many students, both domestic and foreign. As many opt to just bear the education fees, the amateur sports are suffering from two factors.
The first and the most worrying is the number of student players who simply cannot afford to play amateur golf.
The costs involved in supporting an amateur career have gone beyond the means of many players. They simply opt to hang up their golf bag and abandon the career they have worked so hard at.
The next and equally worrying is the loss of players to the American universities. The scholarship is an attempt to control this phenomenon. The effectiveness of this attempt will become apparent in the near future.
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