SEVEN SCOTTISH TEENAGE GIRLS SIGN UP TO JOIN USA UNIVERSITIES NEXT AUGUST

                    Eilidh Watson signs on the dotted line for Stetson University, Florida.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

SEVEN Scottish teenage girls - Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies), Heather Munro (Monifieth), Eilidh Watson (Muckhart), Lauren Whyte (St Regulus), Clara Young (North Berwick) and Anglo-Scots Nicola Callander (Mill Green) and Paige Kemp (Boyce Hill) - have signed Letters of Intent to enrol at American universities next August.

Quite a few Scots girls have played on the US women's college golf circuit over the years dating back to Pamela Wright and Kathryn Imrie in the 1980s - there are several over there at the moment including internationals Jess Meek (Missouri Ueniversity) and Rachael Watton (Denver University) - but for a batch of seven to go across the Atlantic at the same time is something of a record.
Heather Munro, pictured above signing her Letter of Intent, lives at Broughty Ferry but plays out of Monifieth Golf Club. She is bound for Elon University,  North Carolina.
Callander, who lives in Hertfordshire, won the Scottish Under-21 girls championship last year at Blairgowrie. She has signed up for Southern Mississippi University.
Jaffrey, this year's Scottish Under-18 girls' champion from Kilwinning, will be enrolling at Kansas State University.
Whyte, Scottish U18 girls champion in 2012, is bound for Baylor University, Texas.
Watson, Dollar-based winner of the North of Scotland girls championship at Deeside this year, has signed up for Stetson University, Florida.
Kemp, Essex-born but whose mother comes from Stirling, thus qualifying her to play for Scotland, is also going to Stetson University.
Young, who played for GB and I in the inaugural Junior Vagliano Trophy match against the Continent in 2011, is going to join Meek at Missouri.
Munro, Whyte and Jaffrey played for Scotland in the Women's Home Internationals this year at Scotscraig. Young was first reserve and Watson second reserve.  

Stewart Burke, pictured right,  Scotland-based Director of Recruitment for United Sports USA, facilitated the move to America for Callander, Jaffrey, Young and Kemp (not to mention English girls Ashleigh Greenham (to Arizona State University), Dubai-based English girl Sana Tufnal to Tulsa University) and Emma Miller from Wales to Arkansas State University).
"I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work with these players this year in what has been my strongest class of players heading out to the US in the five years I have been in the industry."

Scone-based Gavin Dear, who was himself a student in America for four years, at Lynn University, Florida, commented: "I am sure they will improve their golf and come back even better players, as I did."
 

Dear, pictured left, who won the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team championship for Scotland alongwith Wallace Booth and Calum Macaulay, has given up pro tournament golf to concentrate on his Golf Scholars company which is in the business of putting teenage golf talent in touch with US college golf coaches.
 

"Golf Scholars is offering young golfers/parents the opportunity to come and speak with us about US College golf on December 1 at Craigie Hill Golf Club, Perth. They can arrange a meeting by emailing myself at gavin@golfscholars.com," said Dear.