Debbie Richards takes over as President and Jill Thornhill receives the Gerald Micklem Award as England Golf’s AGM celebrates two women who have given decades to the game.
Women were at the forefront of England Golf’s Annual General Meeting at Woodhall Spa, with a new President installed and its highest volunteer honour going to one of amateur golf’s most remarkable figures.
Debbie Richards has succeeded Alistair Booth as England Golf President after his 12 months in the role. Richards brings a playing career that would stand comparison with many professionals: she represented Wales in the Junior Home Internationals at 16, went on to play county golf for Surrey at senior and second team level, and was selected for the England Senior Team in 2014 — the year the side won gold at the European Team Championships.
Three years later she was appointed England Senior Team Captain, a role she held until 2019, when the team won gold again at the Europeans. That result earned her the 2019 England Golf Volunteer of the Year award.
A club champion at Royal Mid-Surrey, Burhill and Rye, Richards is still playing senior county golf. She said the presidency was “an incredible honour” and that she was looking forward to following England’s players through what she expected to be a successful 2026 season.
A life in the game
The Gerald Micklem Award, which recognises exceptional service to amateur golf, went to Jill Thornhill — a choice that will surprise no one who has followed women’s golf in England over the past six decades.
Thornhill began playing at Purley Downs Golf Club in Surrey in the late 1950s and won her first Surrey County Championship in 1962. She would go on to win it 15 times — a record that still stands. Her playing career at the highest level included the 1983 British Ladies’ Amateur title, the 1986 English Ladies’ Championship, and a Curtis Cup record of just two defeats across three appearances, including GB&I’s first ever win on American soil. She captained the Curtis Cup side in 1990.
But it is her voluntary work across more than 30 years that the Micklem Award recognises. Thornhill served on the South Eastern Division of the English Ladies’ Golf Association in the 1980s before joining its national board, becoming Chairman in 1991. She represented England on the Ladies’ Golf Union for four years, chairing the Training Committee, and captained Surrey county in 1985 and 1986 before later serving as county President.
Her influence on the junior game has been particularly significant. Her leadership of Surrey’s County Academy Programme created pathways for girls aged 8 to 15, and her presence at club level helped shape a junior environment that has produced players including Lottie Woad, Annabel Dimmock, and the Peaford twins, Annabel and Emily, now representing England.
Now 83 and President of Walton Heath Golf Club, Thornhill is still playing off a handicap index of 12.6.
On receiving the award she said she hoped to see amateur golf given greater recognition for the role it plays in developing professionals. “Amateur golf provides the grounding for every aspect of their future career,” she said. “I’d also like to see better recognition and media coverage of women’s golf to help profile the game.”
New board appointments
Jane Bathurst and Tom Martin were also confirmed as new England Golf Board of Directors at the AGM, bringing experience from different areas of the sport to a board that supports more than 1,800 clubs across England.
For more information visit England Golf.
