BIZARRE TWIST PUTS SCOTS BOYS INTO TOP FLIGHT MATCH-PLAY

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE SGU

Scotland are currently playing Italy in the quarter-finals of the European boys' team championship in Sweden after remarkably securing their passage to the top-flight match play stage in the early hours of this morning amid astonishing drama.

The young Scots appeared to have suffered heartache late last night after Greig Marchbank’s disqualification for signing the wrong score saw them post a 31-over-par two-day total, following tough scoring conditions at the par-70 Lidingo Golf Club near Stockholm.

With the 77 of Craig Howie (Peebles) counting to the overall team score (five scores from the six-man side) instead of Marchbank’s 76, the Scots looked to be one too many to make the top eight qualifiers with France progressing ahead of them on 30-over-par.

Dumfries and County’s Marchbank, who mistakenly signed for a 3 instead of 4 at one hole in his second round, was distraught, especially after Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) had fired a brilliant one-under-par 69 to give the Scots a fighting chance.

REMARKABLE TURNAROUND

Scotland appeared set to face Wales, who also had a player disqualified, in the bottom half of the match play, only for circumstances to remarkably shift in their favour.

Team captain Scott Knowles takes up the story:

“I got a phone call in my bedroom at 12.20am this morning, telling me that one of the Spanish players (Jon Rahm) had played with 15 clubs in his bag.

“He had got back to their hotel and was only taking his golf bag out of the car when he realised.

“Like Greig and the Welsh player (Henry James), he owned up to his mistake and was disqualified. His 70 therefore didn’t count and the other Spanish score was a 79, meaning their total was now 32-over-par, one more than ours.

“It was incredible to say the least and a truly remarkable night, very bizarre.

“Our boys were due to tee off at 10.50am this morning but I had to wake them in the night to tell them we were off at 8am in the quarter-finals instead.

“The boys were frustrated at not playing as well as they can yesterday and they are now exited at playing the Italians, who topped the stroke play qualifying at 12-over-par. Hopefully the boys can take this opportunity now against Italy. This situation rarely happens.”

After all the drama, the Scots face two foursomes tie with Italy this morning – Howie and Lawrence Allan (Alva) are paired together with Neil partnering Ewan Scott (St Andrews) – before five singles ties this afternoon to decide which nation progresses to the semi-finals.