England Golf has announced its eight-player under-16 team to take on Spain at Centro Nacional de la RFEG in Madrid on April 11-12 – including Yorkshire-based George Cooper and Mila Dodds.
All four girls in the side will be making their England Golf debuts in the fixture, which returns to the venue where the Spanish side were victorious in 2022. Sand Moor-based Mila, 14, has been selected following a successful 2025 season – during which she won the Bronte Law Junior Series at Moor Allerton, finished T3 at the Scottish Girls’ U16 Open, and finished T4 in the English Girls’ U14 Championship. She also finished in the top 10 at the 2026 World Junior Golf Championship in Spain. She will joined in the team by Mariella Buchanan (Bristol & Clifton, Gloucestershire), Millie Marsh (Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire), and Serafima Taylor (Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire).
Meanwhile, Doncaster-based George, 15, will team up with Justin Chenu (Rochester & Cobham, Kent), Alfie Turner (Trentham, Staffordshire), and AJ Van Emmenis (Wentworth, Surrey). George finished T6 in the 2025 North of England U16s and earned top 20 finishes at the Welsh Open Youths, Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters, Scottish Boys’ U16 Open, and McGregor Trophy (English U16s) last season.
Since the Covid pandemic, England have been beaten in 2022 and 2024 in Spain but triumphed at home in 2023 (Hunstanton) and last time out in 2025 (Seaton Carew).
Jamie O’Connor, England team manager for the event, said: “This is a great fixture to get the season going, testing the youngsters in the matchplay format. It will be a memorable experience for all of those representing England for the first time, and an opportunity to get valuable matchplay experience to stand them in good stead for future tournaments like the Home Internationals, European, and World Team Championships.”
