The League Secretary Dave Warren was invited to take part in his first ever Pro-Am this week in Ian Woosnam’s Charity Pro-Am at Archerfield! He partnered football legend John Colquhoun and the “UK Golf Guy” David Jones. Much to Dave’s delight, the Team’s Pro on day 1 was Sandy Lyle, the former Open and Masters Champion. Sandy was a great partner and was very helpful with some swing tips. The format was the best 2 net scores from 4 players, for Stableford points. A very average total of 80 points was the result, which put the team in mid-table. Those points were carried over to day 2 when the Team joined Paul Eales, a Pro on the Legends Tour. Paul had 7 birdies of his own and he was ably support by his 3 Team-mates who as a Team, scored 90 points, and tied for 1st place on a total of 170. On a count back, our Team were declared as the winners, and we received some excellent prizes. A big thanks are due to DJ Russell for inviting me.  Main picture L-R  David Jones, Dave Warren, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Paul Eales, John Colquhoun, Dougie Donnelly. Sandy, Ian, and Catriona Matthew who was also playing in the event, signed some Masters, Solheim Cup and US Womens Open merchandise for prizes for Juniors.

 

The results from MD8 at The Glen can be seen below. THE OOM POSITIONS ARE NOW BEING RECALCULATED DUE TO AN ERROR IN THE POINTS ALLOCATION SYSTEM. I would like to thank Lynne Malcolm of the host Club, and our volunteer helpers, Shona Paton, Frances Hall, Janice McLeod, Sue Warren, John Anderson, Jack Rogan, Jos – the Glen Club starter, and Clint and the Glen F&B staff. There were 59 Players, and considering there were conflicting events  – “The Wee Wonders” Grand Finals at Gullane No.3 and at the “Wee Course” at North Berwick, and the “Junior Tour” at Brora. Congratulations to the East Lothian Girls Team who won the MD with 156 points, averaging 39 points for the 4 counting scores. James Hamilton of Gifford had an excellent 46 points in the net event, and Fergus Brown won the scratch prize with 37 points, scoring 69 gross, including a 4-under-par back 9 of 31. Team scores and best individual scores are on the table below. This event incorporated the EL Girls Autumn meeting. Scores have been submitted through the WHS so updates to handicaps will take place. If you can play in MD 9 at Gullane No.2, please enter through the Golf Genius App. The League Table has now been updated and can be seen on the home page on this website. The West Links team have moved ahead of Craigielaw but Gullane and East Lothian Girls are also well in the race for the League Championship. All previous MD results for 2021 can be seen under the “drop down” on the top menu bar. Dave Warren 07595 301425

 

Grant Forrest, now 28 years old, and a former Craigielaw Junior and regular Player in the East Lothian Junior Golf League, has become the first male Player since Raymond Russell of Longniddry in 1996, to come through the ranks of East Lothian’s Juniors and achieve success on a major Professional Tour, by winning the Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews at the weekend. Here is a link to an article about Grant’s win, as published on the European Tour website, with some excellent photos. Our sincere congratulations go to him on this achievement, gained through his years of dedication to improving his game, and we wish him more deserved success in the future. Dave Warren, League Secretary.

 

 

Review of amazing performances in May and June 2021 by East Lothian Ladies and Girls! (Copy of Press Release issued 2nd July 2021)

The 54-hole Helen Holm Scottish Women’s 2021 Open at Royal Troon has finished. Present and former ELJGL Players Freya Constable, Clara Young, Tara Mactaggart, Grace Crawford, Hannah Darling, and Carys Irvine all made the 36 hole cut. Hannah finished T2 on 11 under par, only 1 stroke behind the winner. Clara finished T8 on 5 under par. Scoring can be seen here.

The Scottish Junior Tour visited Royal Musselburgh on the 26th June where play was reduced to 36 holes from the planned 54. Freya Constable won the Girls’ Scratch section with an 8 over par total of 154. Lucy Morrison was 8th. In the Boys’ Scratch, Harry Bent was 4th at 2 under par with rounds of 68 and 70. Well done to all of them!

The Open Championship Regional Final Qualifying  events were held on the 29th June at Hollinwell, Prince’s, St Annes Old Links, and West Lancashire. Former EL Junior David Rudd, and vice Captain of the next Watson Cup, reached the final stage after a 72 at Prince’s. However, in the 36 hole showdown involving 72 Players, David did not make the top 3 who make it into the Open Championship. Daniel Kay had a similar outcome at St Annes Old Links and this was the same outcome for Neil Henderson at West Lancashire. Kieran Cantley of the Renaissance Club, was so close to qualifying, after a T4 place at West Lancashire. 

The 54 hole Pollok Junior Masters took place on the 23rd June where Ciaran Paterson and Grace Crawford finished T8 at 3 over par. Connor Currie was T12 at 5 over par. 

The Scottish PGA Young Professionals Tournament has been played at Haddington G.C. and some former ELJGL Juniors played exceptionally well. Rob Paterson of Kilspindie and Fraser Johnston of Longniddry were T2 with 4 round scores of 290, just one stroke behind the winner! In T5th place was Alexander Culverwell, formerly of Dunbar and now attached to Renaissance. Scores here.  

The Mens’ British Amateur Championship was held at Nairn Golf Club. Watson Cup players Connor Wilson and Cameron Adam made the cut. Scores here. Connor was T51 and Cameron T23 in the qualifying. In the first round, Cameron lost to the Scottish Champion George Burns but Connor beat the highest ranked player in the field, Walker Cup player Mark Power, at the last hole though sadly did not get through his next match. 

The 54-hole Stephen Gallacher Foundation Trophy and Vase events have been held at Castle Park. Grace Crawford came from 6 shots behind to triumph in the Girl’s event with a best of the day 75 in tough conditions. Scores here. Grace receives more WAGR points! In the Boys’ event, Watson Cup Player Archie Finnie came from 4 shots behind to win the event by 2 shots. Scores here. All 3 of the Mukherjee boys made the cut with Oliver finishing the best of them, in tied in 5th place.

The British Womens’ Amateur Championship has been held at Kilmarnock Barassie. Hannah Darling tied for second in the qualifying, Grace Crawford and Clara Young also made the top 64. In the Match-play, Hannah had a great run to the semi-final  where she lost at the 19th hole to the eventual winner, Louise Duncan. Clara was beaten at the 19th in the round of 64 whilst Grace was defeated in the following round.

The Scottish Womens’ Amateur Championship has been held at Gullane. Clara Young, Hannah Darling, and Tara Mactaggart, all former Junior League Players, made it through safely to the top 16 Players in the Matchplay section. Clara’s birdie at the 36th hole got her into a tie with 3 others for 16th place but that birdie got her safely through on the better 2nd round rule. Tara Mactaggart had a rollercoaster round with bogeys at all 4 par threes, but threw in an albatross 2 at the par 5 15th on No. 1! Grace Crawford and Abby Nisbet qualified for the 2nd tier of Matchplay. Well done to all of them. Clara, Tara and Hannah all progressed to the semi-finals where Tara defeated Clara by 5&4 whilst Hannah lost by the same margin to the eventual winner, Chloe Goadby. Chloe defeated Tara in the final by 4&3. The Championship draw and scoring can be seen here.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy has been held. Former League player Connor Wilson of Castle Park finished in T11 place with a 72 hole score of 4 under par. Watson Cup Player Cameron Adam had an amazing one over par first round of 73, comprising nine hole scores of 30 and 43! Cameron fought back well to finish in T34th place. Both of the events above counted for WAGR points.

Some of our current and recent ELJGL Juniors have had a belated but sensational start to the 2021 season!

The St Rule Trophy, a WAGR 54 hole scratch event, was completed at St Andrews on the 30th May. There was fantastic scoring by Hannah Darling of Gullane, and by Clara Young of North Berwick, who finished  first and second at 18 under par and 15 under par respectively. Both of them scored 5 under par 71s on the final round. Well done both! Scores can be seen here.

On the 30th of May, the Barrie Douglas Scottish Junior Masters WAGR event was completed over the Strathmore Golf Centre. The scoring can be seen here. Around 25 players who compete in our League played in this 54 hole scratch event. Callum Waugh of Craigielaw was 2nd in the Boys U18 event  and Freya Constable was 9th in the Girls. In the Boys U16 event, Josh Beveridge of Kilspindie was 2nd, Andrew Hendry of Gullane was 4th.

On the same weekend, the 72 hole Scottish Mens Open Championship WAGR event was played at Southerness. Some current and recent League and Watson Cup Players played in this event, including Cammy Gallagher, Oliver Mukherjee, Cameron Adam, Jack McDonald, and Connor Wilson. Both Jack and Connor finished in the top 30. Scores here.

The North Berwick Club played host on Monday the 17th May to Carys Irvine again, but this time she had to play with yours truly, the League Secretary, against two guests from the World of Golf. Karin Sharp, the COO of Scottish Golf, was partnered with Phil Anderton of the R&A, who has strategic responsibilities for Golf Development, Amateur Championships, and sustainability. An excellent match finished all square with Carys holing a blind bunker shot at the 17th, which stunned our opponents into also losing the 18th! L-R Dave Warren, Carys Irvine, Karin Sharp, Phil Anderton.

The East Ladies Ladies Championship has been held at North Berwick. Local players Grace Crawford and Clara Young led the qualifying at North Berwick and were seeded 1 and 2 respectively. All four of the eventual semi-finalists have played in ELJGL and ELLCGA girls events in recent times. On Sunday the 16th May, Grace defeated Carys Irvine, and Tara Mactaggart was victorious against Clara but only at the 21st hole after Clara had squared the match at the 18th with a 50 foot putt for an eagle 2! In the final, there was some superb golf with Tara who was 2 up against Grace when her 2nd shot at the 17th hole, into a strong wind, found the green for a winning birdie 4. Scoring in the Matchplay sections can be seen here  on the ELLCGA website. Congratulations to all 4 who will surely all go on to do great things in the world of golf. Pictured below is Tara with her Caddie, Angus Carrick.

A Junior Tour event was held recently at Southerness but was reduced to only 18 holes due to poor weather. Grace Crawford came out on top in the Girls’ competition with a gross 78. All the Girls scores can be seen here. All the scores from Boys and Girls can be seen on this Facebook page.

Pride of place so far must go to 16 year old Freya Constable of Prestonfield and Kilspindie who won the Midlothian Ladies Championship at Kingsknowe. After defeating the holder Louise Fraser from 3 down in the semi-final, Freya then won a thrilling final against Emma Morrison. Here is a link to a report with a photo of Freya with the trophy. The Secretary notes that Freya won against Rachel Livingstone in the 2nd round. Rachel was the ELJGL Girls Champion for 3 years from 2003-5! Freya, who was on the ELJGL visit to Pinehurst in 2020, is now playing off 4.7.

Connor Wilson of Castle Park and Dunbar, who was Scottish Boys Champion in 2018, admittedly rusty from a lack of competitive golf this year, recently partnered former Open Champion Paul Lawrie in the Royal Dornoch Masters. This experience clearly rubbed off on Connor, who has now returned to form by scoring a sensational 63 round Craigmillar Park in the Lothians Mens’ Team Championship. He was part of the winning Dunbar Team which included Jamie Duguid who scored 70. Jamie is now off +3.3 handicap and Connor is +4.4! Both were members of the ELJGL Watson Cup Team who went to Kiawah Island in South Carolina in 2018.  Members of the next Watson Cup Team, Archie Finnie and Cameron Adam, both playing for Royal Burgess, scored 68 and 71 respectively.

There was a sensational match in the final of the 2020 North Berwick Ladies Club Championship which was delayed till 4th May 2021. The finalists were Clara Young, a 3 time winner of the ELJGL Championship, and 14 year old Grace Crawford, a winner of the ELJGL Championship in 2019 and who was on the ELJGL visit to Pinehurst in 2020. Their handicaps are currently +4.7 and + 2.2 respectively! On a windy evening, they had 13 birdies and 1 eagle!  Grace had 8 birdies and Clara had 5 birdies and 1 eagle! They were watched by around 50 supporters. Both players birdied the par 3 15th “Redan” hole, and standing on the 17th tee, Clara was 2 up. A poor second shot at the downwind 17th hole led to a par 5 for Clara, whilst Grace safely got down in 2 putts from off the the back of the green for a birdie 4. At the drivable par 4 18th hole, Grace hit the green with a fairway metal, but Clara left her tee-shot short in the gully in front of the green. Clara putted up to around 15 feet. Grace then rolled her 45 foot putt for an eagle up to the edge of the hole for another birdie. Clara then missed her putt and her chance to win the match in normal time! So off they went up the 19th, now into a strong wind. Clara’s approach was 20 feet away, whilst Grace was 35 feet away with hers. After Grace’s long putt for another birdie, her 8th, dropped into the hole, sadly Clara missed her putt to prolong the final. Between them they had produced golf of the highest quality, a credit to them both, and they had played in the true “spirit of the game.” The spectators felt privileged to watch such a standard of golf for free! NBGC Ladies Captain Yvonne Keeling, who refereed the Match, presented the trophy to Grace on the 18th tee. The Secretary has posted a playlist of videos of Grace’s putts at the final 3 holes on Youtube here.  The still photos below show Grace about to hole the winning putt on the 19th hole, with Clara watching. The next photo is of the 18th green where Clara two putted for her winning birdie. And the final photo shows Grace Crawford with the Trophy which was presented by the Ladies’ Captain, Yvonne Keeling, who also refereed the match.

 

 

 

Well done to Ryan Yuill of Craigielaw G.C. on winning the East Lothian Schools Scratch Order of Merit for season 2020/2021. Magnus Braby, also of Craigielaw, won the Handicap Order of Merit. The final event was held at The Renaissance GC on Monday 19th April 2021, and the winners on the day were Ryan Gallagher in the scratch section, and Angus Waddell in the handicap section. Full results and a report from Kate Green can be seen at this link. 12 Players are now invited to attend coaching from PGA Professional Paul Wardell at Renaissance. Thanks to Kate for organising this challenging competition, given the Covid-19 and weather conditions which prevailed! 

League Players may be interested in this revised Scottish Golf programme to give young Players a great chance to reach the top of Scottish Golf with help from two Open Champions, Paul Lawrie and Catriona Matthew. We are pleased to see that local Players Hannah Darling and Connor Wilson are in the National High Performance Squad, and that Grace Crawford is in the National Performance squad.

LATEST NEWS- 18th April – please familiarise yourself with the 20 “Must Know” Rules of Golf Changes. See this link to the page filed under “Rules” on the menu bar. The Orders of Merit (OOMs) will be counted using Players’ best 5 out of 10 results at MDs. Should there be a cancelled MD, then the OOMs will be decided on the best 5  results from 9 MDs. If there are only 8, or 7, MDs the OOMs will be decided on the best 4 results. We welcome Joanna Tait, who will now be helping Lynne Malcolm as an assistant Convenor at The Glen.

OLDER NEWS – 16th April – please see final list of our League events this year, which is now on the website home page in the right hand column, at the top. Our 4 MDs which were postponed have all been rearranged so the season, unusually, has a couple of events on weekdays in the School Holidays, and will finish later, with MD 10 at the West Links, at the very end of October. 

OLDER NEWS – 23rd March -due to Covid and travel restriction, the start of the League season will now be delayed until Sunday the 13th June when the first Match-Day will be at Craigielaw. The preceding 4 Match-Days at West Links, Gullane, Dunbar and Longniddry will all be arranged for later in the season. The rescheduled dates are all on our Calendar on this website but some have optional dates and will need to be confirmed. A full fixture list, when finalised, will be sent to all Players registered with the League.

5th March – Dear Players, our first 2 Match Days which were scheduled to take place at North Berwick West Links on Sunday the 21st March, and at Gullane No. 2 on Sunday the 28th March, have both been postponed due to the present Covid situation. The Host Clubs and the League Secretary are discussing alternative dates later in the year. The website has been updated. We will wait and see what happens to 2 further Match Days scheduled for April. All Players registered with the League and on Golf Genius will have received an email alerting them to this news. Our Calendar, which can be seen on this website, now includes all East Lothian Junior Opens in July and August and enables Players and Parents to start planning their golf schedules in the hope that relaxations for travel and golf will happen. Dave Warren, League Secretary.

Dear Junior Golfer, I have sent an email to all Players/Parents in our database regarding the plans for the the oncoming season. Hopefully the message was received in your home and you are now aware of the content. I have also sent an email through Golf Genius to ensure that you all receive the same information. That message may have gone to you personal; email address as register with Golf Genius. 

You are one of the 150+ Players in the records of the EL Junior Golf League (ELJGL) as current Junior Members of one of our 12 East Lothian (EL) Golf Clubs. If you are no longer a member of any EL Club, please let me know and I will update our records. But if you are still involved in our EL Clubs and the ELJGL, please put my email address [email protected], and the website eastlothianjuniorgolf.org.uk into your contacts and favourite websites list.  

We look forward to seeing you all in 2021 at the many events run by the ELJGL. After a much reduced programme in 2020, we hope our 2021 fixtures will commence, on time, at the end of March. If not, we will try to re-arrange any fixtures which are affected. I have delayed until the 7th March, the opening of online registration on Golf Genius (GG)  for the first 2 Match Days (MDs) on the 21st and 28th March at the West Links and Gullane No.2. 

You can keep in touch with ELJGL news and developments, and see all of our fixtures and results. The Calendar on the website drop down is very useful in planning your own programme from all the many Junior golf competitions which are available across Scotland, the UK and abroad. 

We are going to be using “Golf Genius (GG)” software to run the scoring and handicapping at all our Competitions this year. Players cannot compete in our events unless they are registered on GG and we now have 120+ golfers registered there. If you have not already registered on GG, please complete the registration process here. You will then receive an email from GG with a link to an account and a password and sign in details etc. If I have pre-registered you from your GDPR details, you will still have to access your details on GG and confirm your registration and get your password etc. There is advice on how to complete this on our website under the GG drop down on the menu bar. There is no cost to register. If you have registered already, please check and update your details there – email, phone etc, as that is how you, or your parent/guardian will be notified when Competitions are open for online entry, and you/they will also receive draws, results etc. The GG system will do almost everything regarding our ELJGL events including registration, tee times, pairings, scoring input on the GG phone App, live leaderboards, results, Orders of Merit positions and handicaps etc. I urge you to download the GG App on to your Smartphone if you have one. Scoring at MDs can be backed up by, or if required, done through the use of traditional scorecards for the venues. I believe I can deactivate the live Leaderboard, or you can opt out of it if you wish.

Junior Convenors for all our 12 EL Teams have notified me of their squads for the 2021 season. Selection for a squad is often based on how well Players have supported that Club’s own Junior competitions. When you access your details on GG, you can see if you are “affiliated” to a Team for this season. If you don’t see any affiliation, but would like to play for your Club’s Team, please contact your Junior Convenor. Players who are affiliated to any squad this year, and are not selected as one of the 6 Players in each Team at any MD, may still be able to play at any of our 10 MDs as reserves, but only if so nominated by your Convenor. We should have up to 12 places open at each MD for nominated reserves which places we will allocate fairly. Reserves will still be able to compete in the Stableford events at MDs, and win prizes, and earn points in our Boys and Girls Scratch and Handicap Orders of Merit, for which there are other substantial prizes at the end of the season. Other Players, who have not been selected for the Club’s overall Team squad, and are also not nominated as a Reserve for any given MD, but who are registered with the ELJGL and with GG, and have applied through GG to play in any specific MD, may be invited to take part in that MD if there is space, after Players in Teams and any nominated reserves have been placed in the draw. Note – Your Convenor may contact you directly to arrange their Team for any given MD. If they tell you they are going to give me your name on the list of names for their Team for an MD, you will not need to enter that MD yourself. I will enter the names given to me. Then you will be notified by email through GG of the draw.

The annual ELJGL Boys and Girls Championships at Royal Musselburgh on the 6th August are open to any Junior who is a Member of any Club based in East Lothian and Players can enter themselves directly for this, through GG. There are Boys and Girls, and age group Championships. Older Boys play 36 holes. There is no entry fee. A ballot by handicap may be done in the event of over subscription. I’ll send out a notice to you by email through GG asking for entries. (So please register!)

You will know that the World Handicapping System WHS is now in place. The more you play, the more accurate your handicap will become. There are 10 opportunities to reduce your handicaps at our MDs using the Stableford format of play. For all Players, and particularly for our very low handicappers, the dreaded handicap increase of +0.1 for missing your Buffer Zone by only 1 shot or more has now gone. What counts from now on are your best 8 scores in your last 20 “acceptable scores.” So when you complete your next acceptable score, your 21st score, i.e. formerly the oldest score in your previous 20 scores, that score drops off your calculation, and the software works out your new handicap. So if you have just had a bad round, your best 8 scores may not have changed, and therefore your Handicap Index (HI) will most likely not change. And you can add unlimited “General Play” scores during social games at your own and at other Golf Clubs, to try and reduce your handicaps. The procedure for doing this will be available through your own Club’s website or through the Scottish Golf App.

The top 2 Teams in our 2021 League will be entered to play in the Scottish Junior Team Championships at Crail in Fife, on Sunday the 26th September, against other Teams from all over Scotland. We may also enter an all-Girls Team. 

The ELJGL has 2 further great opportunities for our Players. We hope, subject to Covid, to select a number of Players to travel Pinehurst NC in February 2022 during the EL and Edinburgh School breaks, to compete in the “Winternational” events. The trip will include, we hope, games over the fabled Pinehurst No. 2, and Pine Needles, which are either Mens and Women’s US Open venues. On our most recent trip there, 12 Juniors played 10 rounds in 10 days on wonderful golf courses. See our website here for the results. Selection of Players for the next trip (which we hope will be partially subsidised) will depend on age, handicaps, and the frequency of participation, and measures of performance, by Players in our ELJGL events. If we cannot travel there in Feb 2022, we will endeavour to take an even bigger group in February 2023, provided that Players are still Juniors and are still in school education.

Finally, in July 2022, we are hoping, subject to Covid, to hold a scratch Match at some prestigious courses, against a Team from South Carolina, USA, playing for the Tom Watson Cup. Our Team for this was chosen in 2020 and although that fixture was postponed to 2021, the Team originally selected for 2020 will still be representing the ELJGL if they are available. But we may be looking for a couple of reserves. As the home Match is postponed again to 2022, we will then revisit Team selection. And we will look at potential Players for the away Match in South Carolina in either 2024. To be considered for selection for these Matches, our low handicap Players must be affiliated to a ELJGL Team, must have represented them in MDs, and will have to finish near the top of our Scratch Orders of Merit, or win our annual scratch Championships. Additional to these conditions, Players in EL Clubs with good performances in County, National or Stephen Gallagher Foundation WAGR events, may be also be considered for selection. The website here gives details of the first Watson Cup Match, which Tom Watson attended, and there is a more detailed report on the ELJGL website here.  

So there is lots to play for in the ELJGL. Please ensure you are registered on GG here, and then enter and play in our events. Let’s hope for some good news on Covid and travel issues in time for the season to start!

Copied to all Junior Convenors in the League.

Cheers, Dave Warren

ELJGL Secretary. 07595 301425