Under-16 prizewinners at Blairgowrie. From left: third placed Cormac Sharpe (Blairgowrie), winner Gregor Graham (Blairgowrie), Tish Douglas, runner-up Calum Scott (Nairn) and Spencer Henderson (Scottish national boys coach)

Under-18s prizewinners at Blairgowrie.  From left: Runner-up Jack Broun (Ayr Belleisle), third placed Taylor Kerr (Thornhill), winner Greg Dalziel (Airdrie), Tish Douglas and Spencer Henderson (Scottish national boys coach)

 Pictures by Gordon Bannerman.

DALZIEL AND GRAHAM WIN BARRIE DOUGLAS

JUNIOR MASTERS TITLE PLAY-OFFS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
The inaugural Blackadders Barrie Douglas Scottish Junior Masters produced the tightest of finishes - two play-offs to be precise - at Blairgowrie Golf Club's Lansdowne course today.
Jack Broun (Ayr Belleisle) and Greg Dalziel (Airdrie), last year's Scottish U18 boys champion, headed the Under-18s final stroke-play leaderboard, both matching the par of 216 for three rounds.
And, in the Under-16s category, there was also a dead-heat on 216 between Gregor Graham of the host club and Nairn's Calum D Scott
In the two sudden-death play-offs to decide the age-group champions, Dalziel beat Broun with a 45ft putt for an eagle at the first extra hole to win the Under-18s title. The victory lifted Dalziel, the 2017 Scottish Boys champion, to the top of the Scottish boys' Order of Merit.
Graham beat Scott, also at the first extra hole, to win the Under-16s crown.
Broun shot ever improving rounds of 75, 71 and 70 while Dalziel, started well, wobbled a bit in the second round but finished strongly with scores of 71, 74 and 71 get into the play-off which he won
They finished only a shot ahead of Taylor Kerr (Thornhill) and Jack Gallacher (Bathgate) with the first-round leader, Andrew Thornton (Muckhart) finishing fifth on 218.
The leading player from the North was Fraser Owenson (Nairn) who finished joint eighth on 222.
Broun could manage "only " three birdies over his first 36 holes but he conjured up five over his final round of two-under-par 70 and he will be rueing a double bogey 6 at the third which, in the final analysis, cost him an outright victory.
Dalziel, too, will be wishing he could play the last few holes again. Although he did birdie the long 17th, he bogeyed the 12th and 16th in his final round of 71.

Gregor Graham had scores of 71, 70 and 75 to share the Under-16 stroke-play honours with Calum D Scott who had rounds of 70, 74 and 72. They finished three strokes clear of local player Cormac Sharpe.

The dramatic finale was watched by Bradley Neil, hard on the heels of flying in from the Far East after missing the cut at the Volvo China Open 2014 Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher whose son Jack finished fourth after a count back in the U18 event.

The tournament was held in honour of long-time servant to Scottish Golf and R and A selector Barrie Douglas, who passed away last year after taking ill while captaining the Scottish boys at the European Team Championships in Spain.

 

Airdrie GC member Dalziel said: “This is one of my best victories and it was my first ever play-off.

“It was great to be part of an event in memory of Barrie and to go down as the first winner.”

U16 champion Gregor was cheered on by fellow Blairgowrie member and close family friend Neil.

Graham said: “It’s my best ever victory and doing it at my home club with the family supporting me makes it even better.

“Bradley has helped me with my game since I was six-years-old and it was great he was also there to see my win.”

Tour star Gallacher, who is looking forward to his own Foundation’s event at Cardrona in June, welcomed a new world ranking points tournament on the Scottish junior calendar.

He said: “The more competitive tournaments like this with ranking points at stake, with national selectors looking on, the more chance the kids have to perform and gain experience.

BARRIE DOUGLAS SCOTTISH JUNIOR MASTERS
Blairgowrie Golf Club, Lansdowne Course
FINAL TOTALS
UNDER-18s
par 216 (3x72) SSS 72 CSS 72 72 72
216 J Broun (Ayr Belleisle) 75 71 70, G Dalziel (Airdrie) 71 74 71 (Dalziel bt Broun at first hole of sudden-death play-off).
217 T Kerr (Thornhill) 71 74 72, J Gallacher (Bathgate) 70 73 74
218 A Thornton (Muckhart) 67 76 75
221 C Wilson (Castle Park) 73 75 73, S Logue (Royal Montrose) 73 70 78.
222 F Owenson (Nairn) 73 74 75, I Taggart jun (Lenzie) 70 76 76.
223 L Irvine (Kirkhill) 77 71 77
224 L Bryce-Maynard (Moray) 76 74 74 (T12), D Walsh (Lochgelly 77 71 76
227 S A Pears (Nairn) 77 77 73, L Waldron (Royal Aberdeen) 76 76 75
228 F Matthews (Blairgowrie) 77 71 80
229 C Gallagher (Longniddry) 74 78 77
230 M Wilson (Forres) 79 76 75, J J Lockhart (Pitreavie) 78 74 782)
234 A Murphy (Ralston) 77 80 77
235 M L Robertson (Glasgow) 82 75 77, C Barbour (St Andrews New) 76 77 82
236 A Murray (Troon Welbeck) 84 75 78, C O'Hara jun (Airdrie) 75 79 82
237 A Simpson (Strathmore) 81 79 77, E J Milligan jun (Kilmarnock Barassie) 78 78 81 
239 H Clark (Auchterarder) 78 79 82 
240 A Hastings (Craigielaw) 88 75 77
243 G Macdonald (Forfar) 77 82 84 
244 R Cromarty (Nairn) 83 82 79
245 A Scott (Auchterarder) 80 83 82
246 B Clark (Stirling) 84 83 79, F Hamilton (Muckhart) 81 84 81 
247 G McCaffer (Whitecraigs) 87 81 79
248 L Kirkham (Troon Welbeck) 86 78 84
255 J Cameron (Mortonhall) 84 87 84

LEADING UNDER-16s
216 G Graham (Blairgowrie) 71 70 75, C D Scott (Nairn) 70 74 72 (Graham bt Scott at first hole of sudden-death play-off).
219 C Sharpe (Blairgowrie) 77 70 72
220 A O'Hagan (Old Ranfurly) 76 70 74
222 R Mair (Buckpool) 76 69 77, L Reynolds (Hilton Park) 75 72 75
225 D Bullen (Auchterarder) 74 73 78
226 R Lindsay (Ayr Belleisle) 82 71 73, L Gillies (Nairn) 80 69 77
227 J McDonald (Torwoodlee) 78 73 75, C G Daun (Inverness) 75 78 74.
228 C Robinson (Turnhouse) 79 74 75, P Brown (Monifieth) 76 73 79.
SELECTED TOTALS
233 R Bain (Royal Montrose) 75 79 79 (18th)
234 O Walker (Murcar Links) 80 70 78, E Orr (Newmachar) 77 79 78 (T19)
238 A Ewan (King James VI) 81 76 81



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