First of five qualifiers for Grand Final at Gleneagles

Dunfermline Building Society Junior
Masters regional final at Banff


PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
The 2008 Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters, Scotland’s biggest participation junior golf event, gets underway this week with the first of five regional finals this summer taking place on Thursday.
Seventy eight juniors from the North of Scotland will tee up at Duff House Royal, hoping to secure one of the spots in the prestigious grand final, which takes place on the Queen’s Course, Gleneagles, in October.
Qualifying competitions have been taking place up and down the country over the last three months, with the leading two boys and girls from each club making their way through to the regional finals.
Following this week’s event in the North-east, the Junior Masters regional finals moves to Torwoodlee in the Borders, Dunblane New, Gourock and finally Ratho Park in Edinburgh. Youngsters from around 180 clubs will be participating in the five events, with the leading 80 players heading for Gleneagles, home of the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Among the juniors taking part at Duff House Royal, 15 competitors are girls, reflecting the growing popularity of golf in the North of Scotland, boosted by clubgolf’s ‘Girls in Golf’ programme.
Graeme Dalziel, Chief Executive of sponsors Dunfermline Building Society who have invested more than £100,000 in junior golf over the last two years, is looking forward to building on the achievements of last year’s Junior Masters, their first year of partnership with the SGU:
“The 2007 Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters was a huge success for us as sponsors, with youngsters from communities all over Scotland taking part and enjoying a great day of golf. It is extremely rewarding to put something back into a game which gives the country so much benefit.”
“Our partnership reflects our commitment to young people and to grass roots sport. Hopefully some of the youngsters taking part this summer will go on to success at the highest level, but more importantly we want to give children the opportunity to get involved in golf.” added Dalziel.
The winner of last year’s Junior Masters boys section was Lewis Reid, from Fortrose & Rosemarkie who topped the Gleneagles leaderboard with a superb total of 40 stableford points, and those teeing off at Duff House Royal will be aiming to follow in Lewis’s footsteps.
Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union, said:
“The Junior Masters is a hugely important event for the SGU, giving young players of all abilities the chance to play in a national championship. We are grateful to Dunfermline Building Society for enhancing a great event and wish all of our junior members the best of luck this year.”

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STARTING TIMES AT DUFF HOUSE ROYAL ON THURSDAY

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