HIGHLAND SPRING JUNIOR MASTERS FINAL AT GLENEAGLES SUNDAY

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION  

The race to be crowned Highland Spring Junior Masters champion reaches its conclusion on Sunday (October 9) when a host of young hopefuls tee-up in the Grand Final at Gleneagles.

The five-star Perthshire resort, home to the 2014 Ryder Cup, will welcome up-and-coming players from across Scotland for the finale over the much-loved and world-famous Queen’s Course. In total, 51 boys and 30 girls have come through local and regional qualifying to book their place at Gleneagles.

The Highland Spring Junior Masters is Scotland’s largest and most exciting free-to-enter golf event for young golfers. It is the Scottish Golf Union’s grass roots golf competition for boys and girls of all abilities aged under-16 and Highland Spring, the iconic Perthshire-based water brand, is sponsoring this year’s event for the first time.

The tournament, assisted by the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, and run in conjunction with clubgolf, Scotland's national junior golf development programme, also reflects Gleneagles’ commitment to supporting junior golf in Scotland.

A handicap-based event open to all SGU and SLGA affiliated clubs, the Highland Spring Junior Masters provides young golfers with the chance to play in a high profile national championship, with former participants including Carly Booth, now a member of the Ladies European Tour. After club qualifiers, four regional finals took place at Whitecraigs, Loch Ness, Turnhouse and Loudoun Golf Clubs in the school summer holidays during July and August.

The final hopefuls are all bidding to follow in the spike marks of last year’s respective winning pair, Dalbeattie’s Tom Niven and Charlotte Munro of Gullane, who put in superb performances to triumph at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian. But the event, which has been staged for over a decade, returns to The Queen’s this year, where it has previously been successfully held.

Eighteen-handicapper Niven fired a magnificent 44 points to take the boys’ title in 2010, five points clear of Forfar’s Gavin Petrie. In the girls’ event, local youngster Munro upstaged her older rivals to post a superb win in the girls’ section after recording a one-under par tally of 37 points. The 10-year-old from Gullane took the title by just one point, with Aboyne’s Shannon McWilliam in second spot.

Leah Holmes, Sponsorship Executive at Highland Spring, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Scottish Golf Union and clubgolf and look forward to extending our long tradition of supporting golf in Scotland from a grass roots level. 

“Highland Spring is committed to promoting the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle and forging a strong link between sports performance and good hydration.

“We hope our new partnership will encourage young Scottish golfers to adopt healthier drinking habits and further increase participation in golf.”

The beautiful Queen’s Course is the shortest of the three championship courses at Gleneagles, the others being the King’s Course and the PGA Centenary Course, host venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup. The James Braid-designed Queen's, opened in 1919, has played host to some of the world's golfing greats down the years and is a delightful moorland test that threads through high ridges of the estate.

A full draw for the Grand Final can be accessed by clicking here.

Ed Hodge Scottish Golf Union PR and Media Executive