The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Success of fledgling Angus golf event delights winner Ailsa Summers
CARNOUSTIE: Challenge event attracts amateurs and professionals
Local amateur Ailsa Summers and Kris Nicol of Dunes Golf Centre topped their respective leaderboards in the Carnoustie Challenge – a new event staged in the build-up to this year’s Open Championship at the Angus venue.
Nicol, last season’s Young Professionals’ Order of Merit winner on the Tartan Tour, produced the round of the day with a three-under-par 68, playing off the tees that will be used for the Claret Jug event in July.
That gave him a two-shot victory in the men’s event over Peebles amateur Darren Howie, who held the clubhouse lead for most of the day, with Cameron Marr (Musselburgh) finishing third on 71.
Nicol made his score by coming home in four-under 31 thanks to birdies at the 10th, 11th, 14th and 15th before making good par saves at the closing two holes.
“I missed a couple of short putts on the way out but hit it really solid off the tee on the back nine,” said the winner, who sparked his back-nine burst by rolling in a 30-footer at the 10th.
He followed that by holing from 15ft at the next, two-putted for his birdie at the par-five 14th before hitting a six-iron to 6ft at the 16th, which was playing straight downwind.
“I made a good save at the 17th before getting lucky at the last,” added Nicol. “I drove into a bunker and caught my second shot heavy.
“Luckily, it stopped a foot short of the burn and I put my third shot to about 2-3ft.”
The new event, sponsored by Johnstons of Elgin, was open to young PGA professionals and leading amateurs attached to all 10 clubs on the R&A’s rota for the Open.
They were joined by assistant professionals from the Tartan Tour Order of Merit and some elite Scottish amateur players.
“It was great to play at Carnoustie, especially with some of the grandstands going up at the 18th and the course was in great condition,” added Nicol.
Summers won the ladies’ event with a two-over 73, finishing a shot ahead of fellow amateurs Jasmine Mackintosh (Hazlehead) and Gabrielle Macdonald (Craigielaw).
Summers, who works at Edinburgh Airport, was two-over after three before dropping her third shot of the day at the 10th but birdied the 11th and 12th then the 18th. “I played well from tee to green and was quite pleased overall with my performance,” said the 2016 Scottish Women’s champion.
She holds the ladies’ course record at Carnoustie and has won both the club championship and Carnoustie Links Championship.
“I know the course like the back of my hand and the two guys I was playing with were taking my advice about where to hit shots,” added the 24-year-old.
This mixed gender event was the brainchild of Carnoustie’s PGA head professional Colin Sinclair and marked the fact that Carnoustie is one of the few courses to have hosted both the Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
“I think it was a great idea,” said Summers. “Colin is a good friend of mine and it was fortunate that I was off work after he’d managed to secure a spot for me in the field.”
The PGA’s regional manager for Scotland, Shona Malcolm, was delighted with the success of the event.
“It was a good field and everyone was buzzing about the event as they came off the course,” she said.
Sinclair added: “We feel it’s important to give our next generation of elite golfers the opportunity to play in a tournament over one of the finest links courses in the world.”