Greg Payne (Chobham, Surrey) and Jamie Rutherford (Knebworth, Hertfordshire), will attempt to extend England’s fine record in the Lima International at Lima Golf Club in Peru on 11th – 14th April.

James Burnett (Sleaford, Lincolnshire) won the title last year at the same venue, a performance that followed similar ones by English players in earlier years.

Payne, 18, was capped at boys’ level last year, having previously represented England as an under 16. He finished sixth in the 2011 Titleist Footjoy EGU Boys Order of Merit, having finished runner-up in the McEvoy Trophy and as a joint winner of the Junior County Champions Tournament.

The left-hander also won the Surrey Boys Championship, finished third in the Rudersdal Junior Open in Denmark and is a member of this year’s England ‘A’ squad. He finished equal eighth in the recent Portuguese Amateur.

Rutherford (picture © Tom Ward), 19, is also an England ‘A’ squad member, who came to the fore by winning last year’s County Champions Tournament at Woodhall Spa. He also finished fourth in the South of England Amateur and was joint 13th in last month’s Portuguese Amateur.

The format for the Lima International is 72 holes of stroke play with both players’ scores counting over all four rounds for the team event.

England’s glowing record in the Lima event started in 2005 when Neil Chaudhuri from Leicestershire shared the title with Mario Maya of Venezuela.

A year later, Surrey’s James Morrison finished runner-up while he and John Parry from Yorkshire were second in the team event.

In 2009, Adam Best from Cleveland finished joint fourth in the individual when representing an English Students team; Ben Loughrey from Wiltshire filled the same position in the 2010 championship, while Burnett triumphed last year.

Source: EGU Media Release, powered by the GolfbloggerUK Network