SALLY AND ROSEANNE PLAY
BUT NO SCOTS BOYS IN
JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL
The Junior Orange Bowl boys and girls' championships over 72 holes tees off at Biltmore golf course, Coral Gables in Florida in Wednesday. Last week's Doral-Publix Junior Championship, which attracted 628 competitors, may claim to be the world's largest Under-18 tournament but the Junior Orange Bowl is certainly one of the most prestigious events.The Scottish Golf Union is one of the few governing bodies that does not send any of its top youngsters to the event.
When we queried the merits of this policy a year or two ago, we were told that it was an "out-of-season event for golfers in Scotland" .... whatever that means, considering that James Byrne from Banchory, under his own steam, is meantime playing the Texas Junior Tour over the Festive break, while Sally Watson from South Queensferry and Roseanne Niven from Crieff are in the field for the Junior Orange Bowl.
Last year's Junior Orange Bowl boys' champion was England's Ben Parker whose sister Florentyna Parker is among the field of 40 girls at Coral Gables this week.
Apart from Sally Watson and Roseanne Niven, Rachel Connor from Oldham, whose father Brian is the Scots-born professional at Manchester Golf Club, is competing over a 6,261yd course with a ladies' par of 72.
The boys' championship field includes Darren Renwick (Worthing), winner of the Scottish boys' Under-16 open stroke-play championship two years ago, Sam Hutsby, the English boy who won The Duke of York Young Champions' Trophy at Dundonald in the autumn after a superb last round, Luke Goddard, also from England, and Rhys Enoch from Wales.
The boys' course is 6,642yd and has a par of 71.+We'll have the daily scores from the Junior Orange Bowl on our websites at breakfast time each morning, beginning on Thursday.