Paul McPhee (right) in the ring of competitors around the 16th green for the opening ceremony of the R&A Junior Open at Hesketh Golf Club, Lancashire. Paul, like all the 108 competitors from 68 countries, received his competitor's badge personally from Padraig Harrington, the defending Open champion this week. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency, all rights reserved.

McPhee a leading contender for

R&A Junior Open at Hesketh

Winning the R&A Junior Open, held over the next three days (Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday) at Hesketh Golf Club, would be a considerable compensation to Paul McPhee for letting the English Under-16s’ title for the McGregor slip through his fingers.
And the 16-year-old Perth Academy pupil, who plays off scratch, certainly has a chance of winning the Under-16’s tournament which has drawn a record field of more than 100 representatives from more than 60 different countries.
Every two years the R&A invites its affiliated national bodies in 120 countries to send a boy and a girl (over 12 years but under 16 on January 1) to play in the Junior Open in which the lower handicappers play 54 holes and the higher ones 36 holes.
McPhee led at the halfway stage of the McGregor Trophy but fell back to fourth place on the final day at High Post, Wiltshire.
Recently, he just missed equalling the course record of 63 at his home club, King James VI, uniquely situated on Moncrieffe Island in the middle of the River Tay at Perth.
McPhee won the Scottish Under-14s title at Deeside in 2006 and one of his main rivals at Hesketh is likely to be England’s Harry Whittle (Woburn), winner of the same title last year.
It is well-nigh impossible to evaluate McPhee’s title prospects at Hesketh. There are quite a few unknown quantities in the field such as Jordan Speith from Dallas, Texas. You would have to fell that the United States Golf Association is not going to send a young man (and a young girl) to such a prestigious occasion just to make up the numbers.
The last two winners of the R&J Junior Open have been from the United States – Patrick Reid at Heswall in 2006 and Jordan Cox at Kilmarnock Barassie in 2004.

Competitors at previous R&A Junior Opens who have gone on to make a name for themselves as professionals include Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy. David Inglis won the British boys' title after he won the R&A Junior Open title and went on to play for a winning GB&I Walker Cup team - although success as a professional has evaded him.
Scotland’s girl representative is Annabel Niven (Crieff) whose older sister Roseanne was the only British or Irish player in the last four of the recent British women’s open amateur championship at North Berwick.
England’s girl is their Under-14 champion, Hannah Marie Turland.
Ireland are represented by Daniel Murphy (Portarlington) and Daryl Conroy (Castlebar).
For Wales, it’s Sam Dix (Ham Manor) and Emma Davies (Eaton).
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington brought the Claret Jug along to the opening ceremony at Hesketh and personally gave medals to each of the 108 competitors from 68 countries.

He told the boys and girls to enjoy themselves over the next three days because it would given them memories they would remember for the rest of their lives.

"These are the happiest days of your lives. Enjoy them," said Padraig. "There wasn't an R&A Junior Open in my day. More's the pity."
For some strange reason, which not even R&A Golf Development officer Alison White can explain, neither Sweden nor France have nominated any representatives. That is par for the course as far as these two countries are concerned. They seem to have their own agenda for junior golf. Which is a pity, particularly, as far as Sweden are concerned, a nation that has just provided the winning team in the European boys’ and European girls’ Under-18 championships.