Our League Member Grace Crawford, of the West Links Juniors Club, has just won the prestigious Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship, played at Quinta De Lago in Portugal. There is a report here. Grace was even par for the 3 rounds and won by 2 strokes, in her final Junior event before heading to Alabama to start her college course on a scholarship. I have sent Grace our congratulations on adding another impressive title to her name, to add to the Scottish Womens Open Strokeplay and the R&A U16s Championship she has won before. Grace has kindly sent me these 2 photos. Scoring can be seen here at Golf Genius. 

Grace Crawford

Grace Crawford, Charlie Rusbridge and Justin Rose

Congratulations to Turnhouse GC for winning the Scottish Junior Team Championship at Panmure, and to West of Scotland Girls as the leading all-girls Team!  Photos attached. Commiserations to runners-up Glasgow GC!

 

Detailed scoring at the SJTC can be seen on the Golf Genius App, by entering only the code SJTC24 on the sign in page of the App. Attached is a list of prizes and the winners. As few Teams were able to stay for the prize giving, I have delivered them if local, or posted them out to more distant Clubs.

 

The feedback from Convenors, Parents and Players at the SJTC event on Sunday at Panmure has been fantastic. Our sincere thanks are due to Convenors, and all the Parents, for the participation of 119 Players in 20 Teams, from as far away as Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. The field included 25 Girls, a far cry from the 1 girl amongst the 120 competitors who attended the inaugural SJTC in 2017! The event gave all of the Players a rare chance to play one of Scotland’s most fabled courses!

 

I would like to thank the Management, Staff and Members of Panmure GC, for the warm welcome we received and for the access granted for practice rounds, and for the excellent clubhouse facilities, catering, free range balls etc, as well as providing a golf course in tip top condition. The assistance from so many volunteers from Panmure members as starters and spotters etc was much appreciated, due to the recruitment work put in by their dedicated Junior Convenor, Euan Kerr. 

 

Reece, of Panmure Member and Visitors Services, and Panmure’s  Concierge, Fraser, F&B Managers Craig and Jo, and their staff in the Clubhouse, and Dom the Assistant Professional, were in attendance for most of the day and ensured that the long day ran efficiently. David Brodie, the Panmure GM, was involved at the start of the inception of the SJTC whilst he was GM at Glenbervie in 2017, and was again instrumental in Panmure’s hosting of the event. 

 

Our thanks also go to Ian Howarth, former President of Scottish Golf, who donated the trophy and medals, but sadly was unable to attend on the day due to the sudden illness of his wife Audrey to whom we wish a swift recovery!

 

The scoring and other organisational functions, etc, were handled from within the ranks of the East Lothian Junior League, and I thank Sue, Gareth and Chris for the long hours they put in, with particular thanks to Jenny Potter of “Golf Genius” for her assistance on the preparatory work, and for being contactable in case of any problems.

 

We thank Rory Anton, who attended the start of the event to represent Scottish Golf, and hope Rory left with a good impression. I now respectfully ask all Convenors, if they think the concept and format of the free-to-enter SJTC event has any validity and importance to Players in Junior Leagues in Scotland, to write to Robbie Clyde and Fraser Crawford at Scotland Golf and support my contention that SG could adopt this event and include it in their portfolio of annual events. As far as I know, Scottish Golf have handicap events for Men and Women, but do not have a handicap event for Juniors. England Golf have, for some years, held a handicap Team event for Juniors. I am concerned about the number of costly Junior events now being run in Scotland by profit making organisations who are not affiliated to Scottish Golf and are therefore not authorised to hold “qualifying events” for handicap purposes. They may not have the required Child Welfare and Protection and other authorisations, to work in the area of Junior Golf. As far as I am aware, the East Lothian Junior Golf League is the only Junior League in Scotland affiliated to Scottish Golf, and we have to be because the League is run on a Strokeplay Stableford  basis, and not on the traditional Matchplay format. We abandoned that format several years ago.

 

The running of the SJTC is a large task, and I am doubtful that I will be able to be the sole Organiser for much longer. I see this as a golden opportunity for SG to now step forward and take on the organisation and running of the SJTC event. Such adoption would provide SG with an opportunity to raise awareness of the role of SG amongst our up and coming youngsters with higher handicaps, and that SG are there for them even if they never make it into any of their elite events for scratch golfers. That said, there were still 8 Boys playing on Sunday who possessed plus handicaps!

 

I hope to see some of you at the next SJTC at North Berwick West Links on Sunday the 28th September 2025!

 

Regards, 

 

Dave Warren

SJTC Organiser 2017-2024

07595 301425

A day of testing wind welcomed Players at Glen East Links, for the final MD of the season! The season long Orders of Merit results can also be seen on this website. Please read them! The League title was decided and there is another article on this website about that. 

A big thanks to all the members at the The Glen East Links, and to the Secretary Tom McGinley and Donnie Justice the Starter, and to Clint and the Clubhouse staff, for hosting our final MD of the season! It is wonderful to have such a good course, and the excellent clubhouse facilities, for the climax to our season. Thanks to our usual helpers and parents too. 

There were 61 Players, and below is the table of results on the day. Players in green highlight are still to receive their prizes. The Leaderboard can be seen on your Golf Genius Apps.

Harry Black age 12, of The Glen, receiving 11 strokes, scooped first prize in the net with 43 points, from a gross score of 74! In a distant second place with 37 points was Ewan Stone. There was a 5 way tie for 3rd place including Harry’s sister Daisy. 

Joe Macpherson of Kilspindie, in his final event in the League, before leaving to go to college in the USA, won the scratch prize with a gross 3 over par 73, which amassed 33 Stableford points. Jack Collingswood, of West Links Bass, also in his final League event before seeking a college place in the USA, was pipped on count-back for 2nd spot by Fraser Walters of Craigielaw.

Players highlighted below still have to collect their prizes. The fixture list for next year will be published soon, so please make sure you can play in most of our events. They are free-to-enter events for Junior members of East Lothian Clubs.

Dave Warren 07595 301425

On a glorious day at Gifford GC, 48 Players took part in MD9 over a course in excellent condition. Thanks to all the management, staff and members of Gifford for making us so welcome, and special thanks to the usual helpers! The League table can be seen on the sidebar of this website. The strength in depth of the West Links Teams is evident as they were the only 2 Teams who were able to field full Teams of 6 Players. West Links Fidra increased their lead over Haddington to 8 points and look like firm favourites to land the League title next week. Kyle Crawford with 40 points, and Harris Munro with 35 points, led the way in the individual handicap and scratch scores. The Team Totals, and Individual scores, are on the scoresheet attached below. The individual prizewinners are noted below as well. Prizes can be collected at the next Match Day which is at The Glen on Sunday the 18th August. Please make sure you enter that event through the Golf Genius App if your Teams are in contention for the League, or you have a chance of reaching the top 5 in either of the Orders of Merit, which have been updated and can be seen on the Golf Genius App under the Orders of Merit section on the Golf Genius portal, where you can view “season standings.” You will see the scratch and handicap rankings there. Jack Collingswood will be hard to catch now but both Ben Austin and Kai Laing could do so! In the Handicap OOM, Archie Brownlee could easily be caught by any one of 6 Players! All scores have been submitted to WHS so handicaps will be updated overnight.