Apologies! – Calculation and publication of the results of the annual League Championships at Royal Musselburgh took longer than expected due to a technical issue over the accuracy of handicaps on the Golf Genius system. I wanted to make sure that everything was in order first and that trophies, prizes and vouchers are going to the correct Players! The Boys U16/U18 36-hole event was shortened to 18 holes due to the danger of thundery showers, some of which did occur. The event was a qualifier for the Justin Rose and Daily Telegraph Junior Golf Championship to be held at Walton Heath. I will nominate our Boy and Girl Scratch winners Luke and Lucy, and our Net winners Daryl and Rebecca, but sadly, their scores in relation to par may not be low enough to receive an invite.

Our thanks are due to Royal Musselburgh for hosting the event. RMGC Captains Stevie Gough and Helen Findlay presented the prizes to the various age groups. Many thanks to the helpers on the day, John Anderson, Sue Warren, Steve Austin, Stuart Findlay, Shona Paton and Calum and Cammie in the Pro Shop. Our new gazebo was very useful in the rain!

Scores for handicaps were submitted through Golf Genius on the day and your Index should have been updated at midnight! There were 59 Players in total. Trophies have been retained and will be engraved as soon as possible before presentation to you. For Players who were unable to be at the prize-giving, I have retained your vouchers and will pass these to you when I next see you at one of our events. Congratulations to the Players on the following list:-

Photos below- Players receiving their trophies from Stevie Gough or from Helen Findlay, Captains of Royal Musselburgh, or from Dave Warren, League Secretary.

Luke Greig

Lucy Morrison

Daryl Yuill

Brodie Cunningham

Gabriel Ridgeway

Finlay Langlands

Rebecca Wilson

Tom Watson has unveiled the beautiful new Trophy bearing his name at a ceremony at the U.S. Masters. Bob Gunning, Secretary at Longniddry, represented both the League and “Scotland’s Golf Coast.” Tom has signed two US Masters Flags, both faithfully delivered home by Bob. One is for the East Lothian League and one is for the Edinburgh League. Photo below. The Trophy has been specifically designed for bi-annual matches for a combined East Lothian and Edinburgh Junior League Team versus a Team of South Carolina Juniors. The trophy bears detail of Thistles and Palmettos, the State Tree of South Carolina. Please see this link to the Press release about the event. For the history involved – see this article.

Please see this message to Royal Burgess Members from their General Manager:-

Dear Member,

We are delighted to advise members that we have been selected to co-host the Watson Cup, a new trophy to be contested bi-annually between the best young golfers in East Lothian and Edinburgh, and their counterparts in South Carolina. Five time Open Champion Tom Watson has put his name to the event, the first staging of which will be at Kiawah Island in October 2018, with Muirfield and Royal Burgess co-hosting the first return match in 2020. RBGS Honorary Member Bernard Gallacher has agreed to be the Honorary President on that occasion.

Both matches will be played in a Walker Cup style format over 2 days, with players from both the East Lothian Junior League and the Edinburgh Junior League joining forces.

Exact dates and timings will be announced nearer the time but this is another fantastic opportunity for raising the profile of RBGS and demonstrates once again, the high esteem in which our club is held.

Graham Callander General Manager 12th April 2018

Players! The yardage books for both host courses have arrived and will be issued free of charge to our you! See photo samples below. Both courses look amazing! Jack Rogan has agreed to be Captain of the Team – so our Team is Jack, David Rudd, Jamie Duguid, Connor Wilson, Aaron Hall, Cameron Spencer, Andrew Scott, and Cammie Gallagher, some of whom are in great form at the moment. The League has organised a lunch at 1330 on the 22nd September at North Berwick GC at which Team equipment will be issued. You may be interested in the SCJGA fixture list here. Its packed!