Finals came agonisingly close for men’s team

There was good representation for the Strath as a youthful Perth and Kinross county team did themselves proud at golf’s Scottish Men’s Area Team Championship.

The six-man squad impressively worked their way to the semi-final stage at the Kings Golf Club in Inverness last weekend.

And they went agonisingly close to booking a place in the final but were edged out 3-2 on Sunday morning by eventual winners Lothians.

Connor Graham, Auchterarder’s Daniel Bullen and Cormac Sharpe - all under 18s - were joined by Rory Franssen, Ewan Farquharson – also both Auchterarder GC members – and Gavin Dear.

County secretary Alan Cargill reckons the youthful element of the team bodes well for the future.

He said:“We were able to blood some of the younger guys into the team. But the reason they were in the team was because of performances at the highest level. Not just in boys’ competitions. It was good to have the blend of youth and experience. Our goal has always been to get the youngsters into our team.

“These guys are fearless when they stand up on the tee. And the way they conducted themselves was an absolute credit to Perth and Kinross.There was team-work, team spirit and a good bit of banter. We had a good experience as a team and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We are well-placed now moving forward. It shows what can be done with dedication, effort and the right structure.”

All Perth and Kinross players had performed strongly in the strokeplay section to book the county a spot in the last four.

In the semi-final against Lothians, P&K carved out the perfect start when Graham, from Blairgowrie, and Bullen won their foursomes tie.

There were singles defeats for Sharpe, also from Blairgowrie, and Perth’s Dear, but Farquharson continued his steady week of golf to win. That left the match at 2-2.

Remaining on the course in the final game was Franssen and his battle with Angus Carrick went all the way to a second extra hole.

It wasn’t to be on this occasion but Perth and Kinross were taking plenty away from the performance.

“Only four teams qualified and that brought added pressure,”Cargill said.“Out of the 16 teams, realistically, eight were in with a shout. Lothians had the best qualifiers and, on paper, were the favourites. Rory was obviously gutted but we win as a team, lose as a team. They all had the right attitude.

“We got so close and a reversal of fortunes and we would have been in the final. I don’t think many people expected us to get to the last four when we had so many young boys.

“That was over the likes of Fife, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire.”

Special thanks went to Stephen Gardiner Construction, based in Auchterarder, for sponsorship.