Will Porter wins Scottish boys' title

And the winner is .... Will Porter! Pictured with the championship frophy by Kenny Smith.

Will Porter (Carnoustie) is the new Scottish boys' champion. The 17-year-old from Arbroath, a pupil at Glenalmond College, Perthshire, beat Ross Callan, son of the Bathgate GC pro Stuart Callan, by 4 and 3 in today's 36 hole final at Dunbar.
Porter had a slight edge over the first 18 holes and was one up whtn they stopped for a lunch break.
Porter took command on the resumption and had moved into a four-hole lead after 28 holes.
Will beat the No 1 seed, Calum Fyfe (Cawder) in the quarter-finals.
He is the first Carnoustie player to win the title since Steven Brown at Royal Aberdeen in 2001.

REPORT FROM SGU WEBSITE
By ED HODGE 

Porter Power as Carnoustie's Will claims Scottish Boys' glory at breezy Dunbar

After a wonderful week of ‘Dunbar delight’ as the East Lothian links bathed in glorious spells of sunshine, there was a sting in the tail for the conclusion of the Scottish Boys Championship – before Will Porter from Carnoustie emerged victorious.
After all, it wouldn’t be the nation’s flagship junior event without some testing conditions for the potential stars of the future.
Come the end of a demanding day that offered a mix of strong wind, hail storms and bright sunshine, Porter defeated Ross Callan of Bathgate 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final over a layout that is a local qualifying venue for The Open Championship.

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For Porter, a scratch golfer, who has been red-hot with the putter this week – evident none more so in his quarter-final win over top seed Calum Fyfe – and Callan, a three handicapper, it was an incredibly tough day at the office.
Progressing through from a field of 246 players at the start of the week, the duo began the contest with birdies, before their scores began to soar on a par with the wind. Porter held a two-hole advantage after five and then 10 holes, but a run of three poor holes from the 13^th allowed Callan to claw all square. Both struggled on the 18^th, but Porter won it with a bogey to hold a slender one-hole leader at lunch.
Callan, from the renowned Bathgate club that has produced three Ryder Cup players in Eric Brown and Bernard and Stephen Gallacher down the years, could at least draw on the memories of his previous success at the course, having won the Stephen Gallacher Foundation-sponsored Lothians Under-15 Order of Merit scratch prize last year. He birdied the 19^th to square the match, before the strongest hail storm of the day temporarily suspended the match.
But Glenalmond school pupil Porter, like Callan a member of the Scottish Golf Academy that has helped nurture talents like Bradley Neil and Ewen Ferguson, has good links experience from playing at Carnoustie and St Andrews, and he produced his best golf of the final to play the first 10 holes after lunch in two under par and surge to a four-hole lead.
  Callan won the 29^th, but there was no way back as his putter failed him.
Porter, 17, who joins a winners’ list that includes Andrew Coltart, Scott Henry and David Law, said: “The weather reminded me of last year’s British Boys at Prestwick and Dundonald, with the strong wind and no rain, really. I think I learnt from that experience and used it today. You have to make your score on the first nine at Dunbar and then hold on.”
Becoming the first Carnoustie player to win the title since Steven Brown in 2001, he added: “I played in this event for the first time last year and lost in the first round so I’m over the moon. It’s cool to be on the winner’s list with some good names. I’ve looked at what Ewen and Bradley, the past two winners have achieved, and that can only give me confidence.”
For Callan, whose father, Stuart, is the Bathgate club professional and played in the 2001 Open Championship at Royal Lytham, there were many positives. Not least the fact the 16-year-old didn’t expect to reach the final, having ousted the likes of Deeside’s Michael Lawrie, son of Open champion Paul, on the way.
“It’s been a great week, and I felt I hit the ball well in the final and my attitude was good,” he said. “But the putts just didn’t drop. I was never ahead, which was obviously a problem.
“I hoped to get the third round this week and I was actually at Asda in Dunbar last night to get new underwear as I didn’t expect to get this far! It was a new experience for me and hopefully it helps my game going forward. I only turned 16 in January so I have another two years to compete in the Scottish Boys. I’ll be back fighting.”
Photos: Kenny Smith