Euro hopeful Craig victim of clubs crisis
Kit went missing at airport
Kirkhill golfer Craig Ross was among a number of Scotland’s leading amateurs who were set to miss out on the last week’s European Amateur Championship after their clubs went missing at Amsterdam Airport.
The 23- year- old and nine other Scots were set to tee up in Estonia for the individual strokeplay event, one of the biggest events in the international calendar.
With the event starting on Wednesday, August 3, Craig and eight other players flew from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on Monday morning with KLM and then on to Tallinn with Airbaltic.
However, nine sets of clubs had gone missing in Amsterdam, with only AngloScot Ryan Lumsden, who flew from England, being reunited with his clubs in Estonia.
Craig’s clubs turned up eventually and, while many of the Scottish players had been due to tee off in the morning round, prolonged discussions with European Golf Association (EGA) officials allowed all the Scots to start later in round one.
A weather delay of almost two hours due to rain and lightning bought the Scots more time, given the airport is 45 minutes from the course.
National coach Ian Rae said: “I’ve never experienced anything like this but the players were all delighted to be competing.
“It really was a race against time to get the players on the course, the way the events unfolded, and we thank the EGA for their cooperation in this bizarre situation.”
Craig finished tied for 13th and is set to play in the Home Internationals tournaments which run from today (Wednesday) to Friday.
The competition at Nairn Golf Club will see Craig compete with the Scottish 11-man team against England, Wales and Ireland.