FATHER AND SON SCHOOLS CHAMPIONS ... 25 YEARS APART

 Connor Syme, winner of the Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish schoolboys championship at Murrayshall, Perth on Monday - and his father Stuart, the Dumfries and County Golf Club professional who won the same title 25 years ago at Carnoustie, writes Colin Farquharson.We had to wait a few days before it was possible to have the picture taken on Connor's return to Dumfries with the trophy because he was confined to bed with tonsillitis which he must have picked up from the 100-odd pupils from all over Scotland who converged on the Perthshire venue.
Connor Syme's victory extended a remarkable sequence of victories for boys representing the Dumfries and Galloway schools region. He was the fourth victor in a row, coming hard on the heels of Scott Gibson, Liam Johnsion and Daniel McConnachie.
Dumfries and Galloway also won the boys' team title for the sixth time in recent years.

So why does Dumfries and Galloway, with comparatively fewer golfing boys than is the case, say in the heavily populated Edinburgh or Glasgow school areas, continually "punch above its weight?"

Although Stuart Syme is too modest to say so himself, there is little doubt that he and his coaching colleagues in Dumfries are getting the best out of a small crop of talented boys.
"These things go in cycles," said Stuart who is an Advanced PGA Professional and vice-chairman of the PGA in Scotland. "The boys spark off each other and the older ones are very good at encouraging the younger ones to do better."
So what about Stuart's own schoolboys' championship success, obviously before 16-year-old Connor was born.
"It was at Carnoustie 25 years ago and though I cannot recall if they were in the field that I beat that day, guys like Andrew Coltart and Dean Robertson 
were contemporaries of mine."
Both played for GB and I in Walker Cup matches, Coltart in 1991 and Robertson in 1993. Coltart also played in the Ryder Cup match of 1999.
So does Master Syme also want to follow in his father's footsteps as a PGA professional?
"Connor would love a career in professional golf so we will see how things go over the next 2-2.5 years to see if going to a US College becomes an option for him," said Stuart.
"The plan certainly is for him to go to the States. I think for player-development it is the best way forward at the moment. Interestingly, Martin Laird's name is on the cup, having won the Scottish schoolboys championship in 1999. So there is a very real link from where Connor is to today, achieving the same success as Martin Laird did as a teenager and following the route he went down.
"Progress has been intentionally measured so far but now Connor needs to kick on and start to show he's got what it takes.  As you know, you can't beat being the winner so hopefully this win and his win last week in a Scottish Junior Golf Tour event in Ayrshire, will give him a big boost."
No doubt about it, Connor could not have a better PGA pro role modeal than his own dad who is a PGA Advanced Professional at Dumfries and County Golf Club, a Nike Golf Ambassador, a TGi Board member and vice-chairman of the PGA in Scotland.