Former winner Forrest: Great to see junior festival thrive
Grant Forrest is hoping this week’s junior golf festival in East Lothian can provide the same springboard as it did for him 10 years ago.
The US Kids Golf European Championship gets underway on Scotland’s Golf Coast today, when a record field of 650 compete in age-group events at Gullane, Craigielaw, Longniddry, Luffness New, The Glen and, new for 2017, Royal Musselburgh.
It involves players from a staggering 48 nations, including Vietnam, Russia, China and Colombia, with the youngest competitor being just five years old.
Forrest, now a professional on the Challenge Tour, was still cutting his golfing teeth when he played in the inaugural staging of this event 10 years ago.
“I remember how excited I was to compete in one of my first international golf competitions and to do this in East Lothian made it even more special. The competition is a fun event and a great way to introduce young boys and girls to competitive golf.
“I can’t quite believe that it is now almost a decade since I won the very first event and it is fantastic to watch the competition develop each year and see more and more young golfers from across the world come to compete in East Lothian.
“I know every competitor will gain a huge enjoyment from the experience and maybe I might see one or two of them in the professional ranks in the years to come.”
The top finishers in each age category will compete in the European Van Horn Cup – a Ryder Cup-style event – on Friday.