WITH more than half the amateur season completed, I thought it was time for an update on the county scene. 

The main news is that the counties who will compete in the National Finals at Ganton next month are Wiltshire, Lancashire, Warwickshire and my own team, Surrey.  

Each of these teams won their way through to the finals by winning their own regional qualifying event and will be looking forward to the opportunity to be crowned National Champions. 

The format for qualifying is particularly tough with each member of a six man team playing 36 holes and every score contributing to the team total. 

In the South East section at the beautiful Ashridge in Hertfordshire, Surrey’s team of six people were the only team to finish with an under-par total (-9) for the 12 rounds and contained a couple of stand-out performances from Max Williams (-5) and Warren Harmston (-4) on a day with windy conditions and some very tricky pin positions. 

Walker Cup selection is also on the minds of those in the appropriate squad with only a handful events left to compete in before the final team is announced in late August.  

Tom Lewis is all but certain of his place after qualifying for the Open in style, winning his Local Qualifying event at Rye by three shots. 

James Byrne also boosted his chances of an appearance – he was runner-up at the Amateur Championship last year.

• Mark Booker is Surrey captain for this season and currently plays off a handicap of +2