Gregor invited to prestigious event
Blairgowrie golfer Gregor Graham is heading stateside with a strong Scottish team this week.
The 16-year-old has been limbering up to compete in the prestigious Major Champions Invitational, which will be held at Lookout Mountain Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Major Champions Invitational is an opportunity for the legends of the game to support and develop the next generation of golfers.
Players will compete on a team of four, representing the champion that selected them as well as individually in age categories for boys and girls. Gregor is in the Scottish squad alongside Ruben Lindsay, Carmen Griffiths and Evanna Hynd.
Six-time Major champion Sir Nick Faldo and others will be spending time with players to share advice from years of experience at the highest level of the game.
For Gregor, this will be a first time competing in America, although he did travel to the Masters previously to watch club-mate Bradley Neil play at the famed Augusta course.
“It’s unbelievable to get away to a different country and I’m really looking forward to it,” Gregor said.
“I’m really excited to get away with my teammates and it’s going to be fun. Some of my other Scottish team-mates went over last year and said the competition is very high. The scores will be under par so we’re going to have to make quite a lot of birdies if we want to do well.
“I’ve been on the internet doing a bit of research on the course and it looks really good. It doesn’t look too long but it looks quite tight, so my driving is going to have to be on form during the week.”
While distance may not be required this time around, Gregor has spent much of the off-season working on his strength and conditioning.
He realises that is now a big part of the game and that he will need to be in top shape for what is expected to be a busy calendar.
He explained: “I’ve been doing quite a lot of gym work, working on speed for the year ahead. The game is becoming more and more about distance.
“It’s a big thing now and I’ve been working on getting more distance. Last year I wasn’t hitting it too far, but pretty straight. But now I’m able to fly the ball a lot further. Looking at some of the courses, I’ll be able to fly bunkers and that is going to make it so much easier.”
Gregor added: “I got away to Spain at new year for a bit of winter training. It was nice to get over there for a little bit of heat.
“After we come back from America I’ve got a nice wee trip to Desert Springs in Spain with the Scottish team. There’s 10 of us going for a training week.
“Then it’s going to be pretty crazy. I’ve been looking at the schedule and it looks like it’s week after week with tournaments. It should be an exciting year.”
It could well be a defining one for the youngster and there may even be the possibility of a Junior Ryder Cup place. That event is penned in for September at the Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“I’m looking forward to trying to get picked for that,” said Gregor. “Now I’m fully under-18s and there will also be a lot of men’s events this season. I’ll see how I can compete there.”