TOP amateur Ben Scott has been called into the England Boys squad.

And he reckons he owes the call-up, in part, to the Harold Ryden Trophy, the title he won last year and hopes to defend this weekend.

The 18-year-old from Burnley reckons his victory in the top amateur contest last year was the stepping stone to his win in the ELGA Junior Championships and his call-up to the Lancashire side -- and now his place in the England Boys squad.

Scott got the England call just days ago after his performance in the Brabazon Trophy, the English Amateur Open, where he finished joint 26th.

"Only two England Boys players made the cut at the Brabazon Trophy so I think the selectors were quite impressed with how well I did," he said.

"I got a letter from them soon after telling me I'd been selected for England Boys and asking me to go to Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire, which is their centre of excellence.

"It is very, very good."

Scott hopes to celebrate his call-up by retaining the Harold Ryden Trophy, the qualifiers of which are on Saturday at Wilpshire.

"It is a big honour to win the Harold Ryden Trophy and I will be trying to win it again," he said.

"All my achievements towards the end of last season, the Junior Championships and being called into the Lancashire team, all came from winning the Harold Ryden.

"It gave me the extra confidence I needed. It is like proving you are the best golfer in the district. "

But the step up to county level is a big one, as Scott realised during his three turn-outs for Lancashire.

"I learned more in my three matches for Lancashire than I did in the whole of the rest of the time I have been playing golf.

"It is just a completely different standard. In the game against Cheshire last weekend I played probably the best I have ever played but I only halved."

In the Northern Counties match against Cheshire, which Lancashire lost, Scott pulled a muscle in his back but thinks he will be fit for the Harold Ryden qualifiers on Saturday.

And he will be taking a welcome break from the books as he bids to win the contest for the second consecutive year.

The St Theodore's student is in the middle of his A Levels but exam stress will be the last thing on his mind when he tees off.

"It will be a nice change from studying," he said. "I am right in the middle of the exams but I won't be thinking about that on Saturday.

Some of the exam worries have already been removed because Scott has secured a scholarship to study at the University of Missourri next year.

"I went over to the States to play in the Polo Sport Classic last year and I played quite well on the first day.

"All the college scouts were there watching and I got offered a few scholarships."

Scott turned down Southern California in Los Angeles -- 'The course was in Bel Air and I thought it would be too snobby' -- for Missouri, where Tim Robyn is the head coach.

"It was his experience that persuaded me. He has played all four rounds of the US Open twice."

Scott will be jetting off in mid-August to his new home, where he will live on campus but first he has a couple of trophies to defend.

"I am still not too old for the Junior Championships so I will be trying to win that again as well."