Scottish champions to receive automatic selection for home internationals

 

Note from Colin Farquharson: Last year Scottishgolfview.com highlighted the fact that Ailsa Summers, winner of the Scottish women's amateur championship, was left out of the Scotland team for the subsequent women's home internationals. At the time, we were told that winning national championships did not guarantee the champions selection for the home internationals. The person who made that statement, Steve Spaulding, has since left the Scottish Golf staff.

In a complete about-turn, Scottish Golf have now sent out the following News Release, saying that Scottish champions, in future, will be guaranteed places in the home internationals. Too late for Ailsa Summers, pictured above, but the outcry against her non-selection has obviously had an effect on the powers-that-be.

 

NEWS RELEASE FROM SCOTTISH GOLF

The winners of the Scottish Men’s, Women’s, Boys’ and Girls’ Amateur Championships will all secure automatic spots in their respective Scotland Home Internationals sides from this season.

 

Stuart Clayton, new Acting Head of Performance for Scottish Golf, has initiated the selection change with the governing body, which will come into effect when the Home Internationals sides are picked this summer.

 

The exceptions will be the Scottish Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s Amateur Championships, both of which are ‘open’ events, where competitors from other countries take part. If the Seniors’ champions are not eligible to represent Scotland, the automatic place will be passed to the respective selection committee to determine who receives the call-up.

 

Clayton said: “In all of our Scottish Amateur Championships, apart from the Senior Men’s, the winners will have come through head-to-head match-play format, which mirrors the style played at the Home Internationals. We therefore feel the champion will have demonstrated the capabilities required to perform well at the Homes and thus would be deserving of an automatic place.”

 

In August, the Men’s Home Internationals take place at Moortown, the Boys’ event at St Annes Old Links and the Ladies & Girls’ Home Internationals at Little Aston. The Senior Ladies’ go to Newport in October, with the Senior Men’s event being staged at Rosslare in September.

 

The updated selection policy changes come hot on the heels of several changes to Scottish Golf’s national events programme, with the new-look Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship featuring stroke play qualifying across two venues – Prestwick and Prestwick St Cuthbert – while the Scottish Boys Amateur Championship moves from its traditional early season slot to be played concurrently alongside its Girls’ equivalent, hosted by Scotscraig and Drumoig respectively at the end of June.

 

Players can look forward to some fantastic courses for the ‘Major’ domestic events this season, with Royal Aberdeen welcoming competitors for the Scottish Women’s Amateur, Blairgowrie hosting the Senior Women and Royal Burgess the host club for the Scottish Senior Men’s Championship.

 

In a further new addition for 2017, domestic Order of Merit points will now be awarded at both male and female level for the leading 16 players in stroke play qualifying for the Scottish Championships and British Championships, aided by the revised formats in the Scottish Men’s and Boys’ events.

 

“The awarding of points will offer a small bonus for the players, rewarding good performances in the stroke play stages, underlining it as being a key area for player development,” added Clayton.

 

Teams representing Scotland in the Home Internationals will continue to be supported by Aberdeen Asset Management, who celebrate 10 years of sponsorship of the national amateur squads in 2017.