National championships mark club bicentenary

The bicentenary celebrations of Scotscraig Golf Club in Tayport continue in historic fashion over the next six days with the first joint staging of the Scottish Championships for boys and girls.

The 13th oldest club in the world shares both championships with near neighbours Drumoig Golf Club, with Scottish Golf changing dates for both versions of the junior national championships and bringing them together at the same venues for the first time.

The format for the boys’ event, traditionally played in the Easter holidays until a switch of scheduling this year, has also been switched from the traditional straight seven rounds of match play to two rounds of stroke play qualifying, with the best 64 and ties moving on to knockout golf starting on Sunday, culminating in the 36-hole final on Wednesday.

The winners of the strokeplay qualifying will get a special bonus with invitations to play in the Pro-Ams of the two Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Pro-Ams next month.

The boy and girl with the best nett scores over the 36-hole stroke play qualifying in Fife will be invited to play in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Pro-Am on Wednesday July 12 at Dundonald Links, with places in the Ladies Scottish Open Pro-Am for the pair with the best gross scores the following week, July 26.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, said: “We are delighted to offer young golfers a great chance to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the game and enjoy a valuable experience.”

For Scotscraig, hosting the two championships are a fitting way to culminate the club’s 200th anniversary celebrations.

The cornerstone of the activities to mark the bicentenary was the significant redevelopment of the 6,669-yard course, used six times for final qualifying for the Open Championship, intending to return it to a more traditional heathland/links layout.

Bunkers were returned to their original size, while large expanses of penal gorse have been removed, with the idea to return the course to the original vision of Old Tom Morris and James Braid, the two legends primarily associated with the design of the course.

Defending champion Eric McIntosh is aiming for a second title after his victory at Murcar last year in the Boys Championship, with fellow Scottish internationalist Darren Howie – younger brother of former boys’ champion Craig – the field’s backmarker at plus 2.8.

John Paterson of the New Club at St Andrews will be seeking to be the latest player to win both versions of boy’s national title in the same calendar year, after taking the strokeplay version at Monifieth in April. Ewen Ferguson was the last player to achieve that feat in 2014.

The favourite for the girls’ championship is Aboyne’s Shannon McWilliam, but there are two strong local candidates in Strathmore’s Kirsty Brodie and the brilliant 13-year-old Anna McKay from Crail, who won the Fife County Ladies title in May.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management.