Scottish golf news: Stirling success, SJT's weather woes, Knight's new role, Dornoch donations

Martin Dempster’s latest round up of grass-roots golf stories in Scotland

Stirling success over St Andrews in BUCS final

Stirling beat St Andrews in the final to be crowned as British Universities & Colleges Sports (BUCS) champions at Woodhall Spa.

Adding to a lengthy list of successes under Dean Robertson’s watch, Stirling triumphed 10-2 in the title decider at the home of England Golf in Lincolnshire.

Lorna McClymont, holding the trophy, and her team-mates celebrate Stirling's success in the British Universities & Colleges Sports (BUCS) Championship at Woodhall Spa. Picture: BUCS

Scottish Women’s international Lorna McClymont was part of a side that also included Ben Brooks, Ross Laird, Lachlan Reynolds, Alexander Farmer, Owen Tweed, George Cannon and Jerry Fang.

Stirling had earlier beaten Exeter 8-4 and St Andrews were 9-3 winners over Bath in the semi-finals.

The final event of the BUCS season takes place next week as Blairgowrie hosts the Tour Finals.

Bad weather hits Scottish Junior Tour season-opener

Inverness member Summer Elliott won the girls' event in a weather-curtailed Scottish Junior Tour season-opener in the Highlands.

Bad weather hit the Scottish Junior Tour’s season-opener in the Highlands, leaving both the boys’ and girls’ events being curtailed.

After only 18 holes were possible on the opening day at Brora, the girls then managed to complete a second round at Royal Dornoch but, as conditions worsened, a similar plan for the boys’ event was abandoned.

By virtue of a better second-round score of 80, Summer Elliott (Inverness) pipped Freya Russell (Royal Troon) for top spot in the girls’ section.

Meanwhile, The Renaissance Club’s Dominic McGlinchey, who played in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour earlier this year, was the boys’ winner with a fine 70 at Brora.

Alex Knight has joined Scottish Golf as a new Community Impact Manager. Picture: Scottish Golf

“Unfortunately, the weather played a significant part in this event, but we were delighted with the large numbers in the field as 35 players, unfortunately, had to be balloted out,” said Paul Gibson, one of the circuit’s driving forces.

New Scottish Golf role for Alex Knight

Scottish Golf has appointed a new Community Impact Manager as part of its bid to encourage new golfers into the game from schools and hard-to-reach communities.

Alex Knight has joined the Rosyth-based governing body with a wealth of experience in sports development through working for Dundee City Council and, most recently, at Tayside and Fife.

Past captain Willie Mackay:pictured with representatives from many of the beneficiaries from the Royal Dornch Community Fund. Picture: Royal Dornoch Golf Club

“She is passionate about sport as a vehicle for positive change, having been part of the Changing Lives Through Sport & Physical Activity leadership programme,” said a Scottish Golf spokesperson.

Community impact projects is set to play a key role in Scottish Golf’s delivery of its own strategy while also helping the Golf Foundation achieve its mission in Scotland to introduce young people to golf from all backgrounds.

Royal Dornoch donates £10,000 to local causes

Royal Dornoch Golf Club has teed up grants totalling nearly £10,000 to support a range of good causes in the Highland town and the surrounding area.

Representatives from many of the beneficiaries attended an event at the clubhouse to mark the 2024 pay-outs from the Community Fund.

The grant support from the golf club comes on top of an annual contribution of up to £50,000 to the Dornoch Common Good Fund as the rental based on the number of visiting golfers.

Past captain Willie Mackay: “As a golf club with deep roots in the local community, it is a pleasure to support a wide variety of good causes. It was a challenge deciding which groups to support given the volume of entries we received. It underlines how active the community is in this part of the Highlands.”