EUAN AIMS AT UK TITLE
Teenager has been playing for less than two years
A Cambuslang teenager has qualified to compete for the title of best junior golfer in the UK and Ireland.
Euan Arbuckle has made it through to the grand final after a closely fought qualifying competition at Playsport Golf in East Kilbride on July 21.
The 13 year old, who plays at Cathkin Braes Golf Club, now progresses to take his place at Gainsborough, home of manufacturer Ping, where he will meet some of the best juniors in the game on August 17.
His proud dad Robert is also a keen golfer and was delighted to see his son take to the sport so quickly after only becoming a member of the Rutherglen club 18 months ago.
He told the Reformer: “He’s only being playing for just under two years.
“Euan used to play football in East Kilbride but wasn’t really getting a game so decided to try golf.
“He took to it really quickly because he had good hand-eye coordination.
“He’s probably one of the youngest in the junior team at Cathkin Braes but he decided to do some tournaments this year.
“He played at Troon but didn’t get on very well. It was pretty poor weather.
“But he played out his skin at Playsport and, because of his handicap and low score, that’s how he qualified.
“He’s looking forward to going to Gainsborough. We’ll take him down the day before and Euan will get a look around the Ping factory they have there.”
Euan won qualification with a win in the best net score category with a fantastic net round of 54.
The Cathkin High pupil, who plays off 28, will join qualifiers from events all over the UK and Ireland in an effort to take the American Golf title.
And Euan is giving himself every chance of achieving a good performance with the amount of practice he has put in since becoming a member at Cathkin Braes in the summer of 2015.
Robert explained: “He’ll be out on the course about two to three times a week and if he’s not up at Cathkin Braes he’ll be on the back fields.”
It is also likely that Euan will feature on Sky Sports, who will be covering the Ameri can Go l f Ju ni o r Championship.
The programme is believed to launch a month after the event has taken place.
Daniel Gathercole, director of marketing and communications at American Golf, said: “We’re excited to host these great young golfers for the final and, with the help of Ping, aim to make it a truly memorable event.”