RISING golf star Matty Lamb has been selected to play for England following a string of impressive performances this season.

The 21-year-old Hexham Golf Club member will be one of six players to represent England men at the European Amateur Team Championship, in Sweden, next week.

Lamb, who came within a whisker of winning the prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy in Scotland last month, will link-up with other top amateur players.

He will be joined by Yorkshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick, Cornwall’s Harry Hall, Northamptonshire’s Ben Jones, Tom Plumb of Yeovil in Somerset, and Tom Sloman, of Taunton & Pickeridge, Somerset.

All six have excelled in tournaments across the globe this year. Plumb won the Cape Province Open in South Africa, Sloman won the individual title at the European Nations Cup, while Fitzpatrick was third in the Jones Cup Invitational in America.

Lamb and his teammates will play both strokeplay, and matchplay at Ljunghusen, one of Sweden’s oldest golf clubs, at the event, organised by the European Golf Association.

In addition to the men’s team, England Golf has also selected teams for the women’s girls’ and boys’ European Championships, which will also take place next week, from July 9-13.

While Lamb will fly the flag for the district, other golfers from the North-East and Cumbria will be on international duty.

The England girls’ team, which will compete in their respective championship, at Parador de El Saler, Spain, will include Jessica Baker, of Gosforth Park Ladies, Rosie Belsham of Whitley Bay, and Caitlin Whitehead, of Carus Green, Kendal.

The honour will be a timely boost for Lamb, who had to settle for second place at St Andrews, after a dramatic final round at the venue’s iconic Old Course.

The youngster set a new 36-hole record, after his outstanding opening rounds of 64 and 63, which he followed-up with a solid 69 in round three.

Lamb took his lead into the final holes, but he was eventually pipped to the title by Jake Burnage, of Saunton in Devon.

In April, Lamb won the prestigious Hampshire Hog Open amateur title.