Wallace conquers the Dunes challenge to win Junior Order of Merit Final
October 2011
Andrew Wallace is the toast of Campbeltown after winning the inaugural Argyll & Bute clubgolf Junior Order of Merit Final Event on the beautiful Machrihanish Dunes golf course on Sunday.
Against 30 of Argyll & Bute’s most promising young golfers on a gusty day, 14 year old Wallace from local club Machrihanish blew away the field with a superb gross score of 76, 4 over par and the best score ever recorded on the challenging course.
The 12 handicapper took the Best Gross prize and Best Net prize in Category 1, both by 3 shots, with his effort.
“It was a brilliant event,” said a delighted Wallace, who has benefited from clubgolf coaching at his club. “This is the first time I have ever won a competition and I’m going to try and play in a lot more next year.”
Cowal Golf Club’s Fraser Thomson took home the Best Net prize in Category 2 (for handicaps 19-36) with an excellent net score of 74. Meanwhile the spoils in the season long Order of Merit went almost exclusively to the Isle of Bute, with junior golfers from Port Bannatyne Golf Club and Rothesay Golf Club scooping five of the six top prizes.
Janette Jansson, General Manager of Machrihanish Dunes said, “These young players are the future of Scottish golf so we were delighted to host this event and have them on our course yesterday.
“Andrew Wallace’s score of 64 was the best ever on this course by any player, and he should be delighted with that. We have had some real low handicap players on this course so he played an unbelievable round.”
Created this season as a direct result of the growth in junior golf through the national junior programme, clubgolf, the Argyll & Bute clubgolf Junior Order of Merit achieved its aim of increasing opportunities for juniors to play competitions both in and outside of their home towns and clubs.
The clubgolf Junior Order of Merit series comprised junior events at Cowal, Dunaverty, Millport, Rothesay, Cardross and Port Bannatyne golf clubs before concluding at Machrihanish Dunes.
Over 100 junior golfers took part this summer, their handicaps ranging from Scratch right through to 36 plus the juniors new to the game playing the pre-handicap clubgolf Flag events.
In Sunday’s finale, 11 golf clubs were represented with players competing for double points and vying to take the Order of Merit titles in the Scratch, Handicap 0-18 and Handicap 19-36 categories.
Fourteen year old Scott Dunn (Port Bannatyne) was the most successful player over the season, winning both the Scratch and Category 1 titles after finishing in the top ten in 5 of the 7 events. Fraser Thomson (Cowal) broke the Bute dominance in winning the Category 2 Order of Merit Title, due to winning 2 of the 7 events, including the Final Event at Machrihanish Dunes.
Arran Dunn (Port Bannatyne), Scott McAlister (Rothesay) and John Murray (Rothesay) were close Runners-up in the three season long Order of Merit Categories.
Hailed a success by all involved, clubgolf plans to extend the competition programme for 2012, including at least two more new junior open competitions counting towards the Order of Merit.
“Today’s event shows the enthusiasm for competition opportunities that run alongside the excellent clubgolf junior coaching programmes being offered at a large number of Argyll & Bute golf clubs,” said clubgolf Regional Manager Colin Bell.
“These programmes are only possible due to the hard work and time dedicated by qualified clubgolf volunteer coaches and helpers in the golf clubs.
“Hopefully this event provides an incentive for these clubs to continue their coaching programmes and encourage even more juniors to take part in the events, experiencing the challenge of playing golf courses across the area.
“In particular a big thank you is due to all the golf clubs that hosted an Order of Merit event this year, especially for incorporating a clubgolf Flag competition into their event. This gives the perfect opportunity for new junior golfers without a handicap to experience a fun competition and see what’s possible by looking up to the more experienced juniors in the main categories.
“I also can’t speak highly enough of the staff at Machrihanish Dunes who provided an excellent experience for all of the children and made the event organisation very easy on the day. The reviews of the course were fantastic as well and clubgolf very much looks forward to working in conjunction with this first class venue again in 2012.”
Full results are available on the clubgolf website under the Argyll & Dunbartonshire section.
Winners and event organisers Machrihanish Dunes, by Kevin McGlynn
