BRITISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP

EIGHTEEN SCOTS AND SHAKIN STEVENS
FROM DEESIDE STILL IN THERE

From a starting field of 256, the British boys’ golf championship at Balgownie entered its third day on Wednesday with the figure whittled down to 108.
Of that, 18 are true-blue Scots but there is another, American-born Deeside Golf Club member Sean “Shakin” Stevens, who will not object to be classed as a member of the Tartan Army of golfers.
Other North and North-east “locals” still in contention are Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh), Ryan Elder (Nairn Dunbar), Graeme Mitchell (Northern), Scott Fraser (Northern), Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) and David Morrison (Duff House Royal).
Findlay reckons he played better in winning his second-round tie – by 2 and 1 over Loretto Golf Academy pupil Tom Hayes (West Byfleet) – than he did in his first. That’s an encouraging sign for the Fraserburgh player who has has peaked during this championship for the past two years.
He won the title in North Wales when he was 16 and was beaten in the final at Hunstanton two years.
“My short game’s getting better and that’s very important in a match-play championship like this, “said Findlay whose East Tennessee State University head golf coach Frank Warren has seen every shot played so far by his star student golfer.
Unfortunately, Jordan is on course for a Thursday fourth-round meeting with Shaun McAllister, the Scottish boys’ stroke-play champion from Craigielaw.
McALLISTER FIVE UNDER PAR
McAllister’s five-under-par figures in beating Jesper Kennegard (Sweden), chosen already to play for the Continent against GB&I in the forthcoming Jacques Leglise Trophy boys’ international, would have been too good for Jordan – and everybody else in the field – had they met yesterday.
Two other Scots from the same first quarter of the draw will meet today - Sam Torrance’s son Daniel and Ross Kellett (Colville Park), a member of the victorious team in last week’s boys’ home internationals at Lossiemouth.
Daniel Torrance won at the 20th in fading light yesterday evening against another Scot, Michael Daily (Erskine), while Kellett won by one hole against James White (Lundin), winner of the Scottish boys’ match-play championship at the start of the season.
The Northern pair, Scott Fraser and Graeme Mitchell, could make some more progress before they run into the big guns of the championship. Scott Fraser, of course, has already claimed a notable scalp in Sam Hutsby, the England boys’ team captain who won the Spanish men’s open amateur title back in the spring.
Fraser does not lack confidence in his own ability and that played a big part in beating Hutsby on the 18th green.
Mitchell and Ryan Elder (Nairn Dunbar) are both in the second quarter.
David Morrison (Duff House Royal), who beat Mitchell in the recent final of the Paul Lawrie Junior Match-play Challenge at St Andrews Bay, has an interesting tie today against one of the party of Thailand players who are making light of the chilly conditions they are certainly not used to at this time of the year.
Nakarintra Ratanakul beat Tom Spencer of Inchmarlo by 2 and 1 yesterday to set up the meeting with Morrison.
WAITING FOR DAY AND A BIT
Waiting for a day and a bit as a reserve-on-call at Balgownie seemed to act as a spur to Sean
Stevens who had been at the course before 7am on both Monday and Tuesday, waiting to see if anybody had dropped out.
The answer was “yes” from the R&A officials yesterday and Sean could hardly wait to get going in his 10.45am tie against Scotland boy cap Chris Robinson (Wigtown & Bladnoch). Stevens polished his opponent off by the impressive margin of 7 and 6.
The American youngster had revealed his talent in the St Andrews Boys Open a week or so ago when, entered from Deeside, he was the leading qualifier after 36 holes of medal play and then won his way through to the semi-finals over the Old Course before being beaten.
Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) is in the same fourth quarter of the draw as Stevens.