Amateur Scene: Ireland's recently selected Walker Cup players, Noel Fox and Colm Moriarty, will complete an 11-strong Irish assault on the European Individual Championship, which begins at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland tomorrow.

Fox from Portmarnock and Moriarty from Athlone will be joined by Mark O'Sullivan (Galway), Justin Kehoe (Birr), Brian McElhinney (North West) and Gareth Maybin (Ballyclare) from the international panel as they bid to emulate Hermitage's Stephen Browne, who won the title in Denmark in 2001 but has since turned professional.

The only other Irish winner of the title was Paddy Gribben in 1998. Also in the field are Darren Crowe (Dunmurry), Johnny Foster (Ballyclare), Michael McDermott (Stackstown), Michael McGeady (City of Derry) and Lee Owens (Royal Dublin).

Fox (29), the Irish Amateur Open champion, was a member of Ireland's three-man team in the World Amateur Team Championship in Malaysia last October along with Moriarty and Kehoe. This year he finished fourth in the St Andrews Links Trophy while Moriarty (23), winner of the New South Wales Strokeplay and Matchplay Championships at the beginning of the year in Australia, won the South of Ireland Championship and Willie Gill Award in 2002.

England's Gary Wolstenholme and Stuart Manley from Wales are other Walker Cup players in the field. Wolstenholme, who turns 43 on the second day of the Championship, has yet to add the European title to his vast collection of triumphs, although he was joint runner-up behind Gribben in 1998. Manley was runner-up to Fox in the Irish Strokeplay championship at Royal Dublin earlier in the season.

McElhinney received another boost last week when he was named winner of the Joe Carr Perpetual Merit Award for 2003 with a final points total of 150.

The Irish international captured the Connacht Youths title in April, had a top 10 finish in the Munster Youths and was runner-up in both Leinster and Ulster Youths Championships.

Mark Staunton of Ballinasloe was the runner-up on 110 points after he finished best-placed Irishman at the Irish Youths Championship and captured the Ulster Youths title, beating McElhinney by just one stroke.

David Ryan of Grange finished on 100 points after his victories in the Munster and Leinster Youths Championships while Robert McCarthy (The Island), on 95 points, finished fourth, two places higher than in 2002, thanks to several top-10 finishes.

Cian McNamara, the Tom Montgomery Merit Winner in 2002, and Greg Bowden of Hermitage finished on 75 points in fifth place.

Meanwhile, McNamara, who won the British Open Junior Championship last year, will defend his Nissan Irish Boys title starting at Hermitage Golf Club tomorrow.

McNamara has already won the Munster title this year and he will have strong opposition from the Leinster champion, Paul O'Hanlon from the Curragh, Clandeboye's Nicky Grant, who won the Connacht title, and Ulster champion Rory McIlroy.

Also in a strong line-up are The Island's David Rawluk, Nicholas Grant (Knock), Aaron O'Callaghan (Douglas) and Gareth Shaw (Lurgan), who all did so well in last week's British Boys Championship.

The Championship is over 72 holes, with 18 holes tomorrow and Thursday, and the 51 lowest scores qualifying for the final 36 holes on Friday.

Eight of the 10 members of the United States team for the Walker Cup match at Ganton on September 6th and 7th have been named by the United States Golf Association and include recent US Open qualifiers Bill Haas of Greer, SC, and Trip Kuehne of Dallas, Texas.

The final two selections will be named immediately following this week's US Amateur Championship, in which Waterville's Mark Murphy is the only Irish qualifier.

Haas and Kuehne will be joined on the team by Matt Hendrix of Aiken, South Carolina; Brock Mackenzie of Yakima, Washington; Ryan Moore of Puyallup, Washington; Chris Nallen of Hackettstown, New Jersey; Adam Rubinson of Fort Worth, Texas; and Casey Wittenberg of Memphis, Tennessee.

Only Kuehne has previous Walker Cup experience, having played on the 1995 team. Team captain is Bob Lewis (59), of Pepper Pike, Ohio, a four-time Walker Cup team member and three-time USGA championship runner-up.

Alison Coffey makes a welcome return to competitive golf this week when she tees up in the Women's British Amateur Strokeplay Championship, starting at Royal Portrush tomorrow.

Curtis Cup player Coffey finished third at Barassi in 2000 and second in 2001 and having taken time off to complete her studies will be anxious for another high finish.

Tricia Mangan will be joined by Vagliano Trophy team-mates Claire Queen, Emma Duggleby and Fame More in a top-class line-up, while Irish champion Martina Gillen and internationals Marie Dunne, Heather Nolan and Claire Coughlan are also among a 20-strong Irish entry.