SGU decision to

nominate players

for Scots Challenge

instead of East

Open is ill-advised

SAYS DAVID MOIR
Championship Convener
East of Scotland Open
The East of Scotland Open committee has worked very hard over the last few months to convince the new management of Bobby Jones-Europe that it is worthwhile to continue the company's generous sponsorship at a time when financial belts are being tightened.
Successful friendly persuasion has resulted in the 36th East of Scotland Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, to be played at Lundin on Saturday and Sunday having the suffix of sponsorship by that illustrious name in golf history and modern golfing lifestyle, Bobby Jones.
Unfortunatelythe strength of the starting field of the Championship, like the 2007 Leven Gold Medal, was threatened by the selection of top Scottish amateurs to play elsewhere.
Whilst it has always been accepted that the East of Scotland Open will lose the players selected to represent Scotland in the annual European team championship taking place the week after the event, the fact that the next six Scots in the pecking order have been nominated to play in the Scottish Challenge at Cardrona, a professional event clashing with the East of Scotland Open, is another matter.
The decision of the Scottish Golf Union to nominate amateur players to play in professional events that clash with its own Order of Merit events is ill-advised.
Apart from their traditional status in the Scottish golfing calendar, these SGU Order of Merit events are World Amateur Golf Ranking Counting Events and good performance therein is of major importance, as a player’s ranking may affect his entry into future international amateur events.
The players are not to blame - they are not going to jeopardise their international ambitions by turning down such an invitation to play in a Challenge Tour event.
Is there another major amateur golfing organisation that would encourage, never mind nominate, players to miss a domestic Order of Merit event, except for representative duty?
Are these events now considered unworthy for selection purposes?
It is the credo of the East of Scotland Open that it is “the Players’ Championship” and those who compete are the most important so, to retain the strength of the field, ranked non-Scottish players have been attracted to replace the absentees.
The stronger the fields at Order of Merit events, the better are the chances of young Scots to climb on to the first rung of the ranking ladder.
As a result, high-ranking Australian Eisenhower Trophy squad members, Scott Arnold and Rohan Blizard, are joined by fellow Aussies, Stephen Speirs (actually an Aussie-based Scot who also plays out of Portpatrick) and Jonathan Welsh.
Robert McCarthy from Ireland, James Hamilton from New Zealand, J J Senekal, Justin Turner and Chris van der Merwe from South Africa, and three entrants from USA are also in a field that also features Scottish internationals, Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie), Bryan Fotheringham (Forres), Kevin McAlpine (Alyth), Scott Knowles (Kingsknowe) and Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire), the latter being former East of Scotland champions.
Flying the flag for Leven Thistle are Mark Anderson and Grant McNab with other local interest in Lundie members, Peter Latimer, Steven Meiklejohn, James Ross and James White.
***Note of information (supplied by Colin Farquharson, who will report on the tournament for www.scottishgolfview.com this weekend):
The Scots amateurs who are playing in the Scottish Challenge at Cardrona instead of the East of Scotland Open are:
Philip McLean (Peterhead).
Steven McEwan (Caprington).
Ross Kellett (Colville Park).
James Byrne (Banchory).
John Gallagher (Swanston New).
Scott Henry (Cardross).