FEAST OF VERY GOOD BOYS' GOLF ON CRUDEN BAY MENU THIS WEEK
CAN MACINTYRE and CO BEAT TOM
WATSON OVER CRUDEN BAY ....?
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
A field of 144 of the best under-18 male golfers in Scotland will also include potential winners from the Continentn and others from as far afield as South Africa and Australia in the 72-hole Scottish boys' open amateur stroke-play championship at Cruden Bay this week.
The tournament, which has been won by players of the calibre of Stephen Gallacher (twice), Scott Jamieson, Steven Young and James Byrne, to name but four, tees off Tuesday at 7.30am and the last players will not start until 3.30pm.
It's the same schedule for the second round on Wednesday, at the end of which the leading 40 players and ties will play the final 36 holes on Thursday.
Four of a handicap was the limit mark for entries and the lowest/highest rated player in the field is a South African youngster . Kyle McClatchey from the Serengeti Golf Club.
He had a handicap of +4.
Another South African in the field is one with a more famous name - Tom Watson, from Fancourt Golf Club. He has +3 of a handicap.
If he can play links golf like the five times Open champion of the same name, this Tom Watson will take some beating.
Then there's Ben Ferguson from The Vines, Australia. He plays off +2.3 and has been in Scotland for a couple of months acclimatising himself to links courses as well as the summer weather.
Hopes of a home victory may rest with the defending champion Robert MacIntyre, pictured above by Kenny Smith, the left-handed player from Oban who also won the Scottish youths title 12 months ago and has a handicap of +3.
When he won this tournament at The Roxburghe last July, he had nine shots to spare over runner-up Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) with a double-digit sub-par aggregate for the 72 holes.
Ferguson went on to win the British boys' title last year. He has been runner-up in the Scottish boys stroke play two years in a row. Ewen has a handicap of +2.7.
Main North and North-east hopes are Sandy Scott (The Nairn), recent winner of the R P B Bain North District boys championship, and Adam Fisher (Newmachar), recent winner of the Paul Lawrie Junior Jug.
But the field abounds with very good young talent and I could draw up a list of 10 or 12 players who would be my idea of potential winners - and still not get Thursday evening's 1-2-3 on it!
Whoever wins it promises to be a great tournament over three days. Well worth going out to watch the stars of the future and try to pick one you think has got what it takes to be the next Stephen Gallacher or even Rory McIlroy..
One of my tenuous links to McIlroy is that I saw him play - and interviewed him - at The Duke of York Young Champions Trophy tournament at Kingsbarns 10 or so years ago - and he didn't win it - a Welsh boy who did not "train on" as an adult did.
TO VIEW THE FIRST AND SECOND ROUND DRAWS
CLICK HERE
WATSON OVER CRUDEN BAY ....?
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
A field of 144 of the best under-18 male golfers in Scotland will also include potential winners from the Continentn and others from as far afield as South Africa and Australia in the 72-hole Scottish boys' open amateur stroke-play championship at Cruden Bay this week.
The tournament, which has been won by players of the calibre of Stephen Gallacher (twice), Scott Jamieson, Steven Young and James Byrne, to name but four, tees off Tuesday at 7.30am and the last players will not start until 3.30pm.
It's the same schedule for the second round on Wednesday, at the end of which the leading 40 players and ties will play the final 36 holes on Thursday.
Four of a handicap was the limit mark for entries and the lowest/highest rated player in the field is a South African youngster . Kyle McClatchey from the Serengeti Golf Club.
He had a handicap of +4.
Another South African in the field is one with a more famous name - Tom Watson, from Fancourt Golf Club. He has +3 of a handicap.
If he can play links golf like the five times Open champion of the same name, this Tom Watson will take some beating.
Then there's Ben Ferguson from The Vines, Australia. He plays off +2.3 and has been in Scotland for a couple of months acclimatising himself to links courses as well as the summer weather.
Hopes of a home victory may rest with the defending champion Robert MacIntyre, pictured above by Kenny Smith, the left-handed player from Oban who also won the Scottish youths title 12 months ago and has a handicap of +3.
When he won this tournament at The Roxburghe last July, he had nine shots to spare over runner-up Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) with a double-digit sub-par aggregate for the 72 holes.
Ferguson went on to win the British boys' title last year. He has been runner-up in the Scottish boys stroke play two years in a row. Ewen has a handicap of +2.7.
Main North and North-east hopes are Sandy Scott (The Nairn), recent winner of the R P B Bain North District boys championship, and Adam Fisher (Newmachar), recent winner of the Paul Lawrie Junior Jug.
But the field abounds with very good young talent and I could draw up a list of 10 or 12 players who would be my idea of potential winners - and still not get Thursday evening's 1-2-3 on it!
Whoever wins it promises to be a great tournament over three days. Well worth going out to watch the stars of the future and try to pick one you think has got what it takes to be the next Stephen Gallacher or even Rory McIlroy..
One of my tenuous links to McIlroy is that I saw him play - and interviewed him - at The Duke of York Young Champions Trophy tournament at Kingsbarns 10 or so years ago - and he didn't win it - a Welsh boy who did not "train on" as an adult did.
TO VIEW THE FIRST AND SECOND ROUND DRAWS
CLICK HERE
Labels: Boys
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Monday, July 21, 2014
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