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| Renfrewshire's Linsey Stevenson pictured front row RHS in the winning Scottish Schools Teams |
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Scotland scored an historic "double whammy" over England in the annual schools golf international over the windswept Kilmarnock Barassie links today.
Heedful of the weather forecast that 80mph gales would hit Ayrshire in late afternoon – compared with 20 to 30mph earlier in the day – the organisers scrapped the usual morning foursomes/afternoon singles format and played singles only in a bid to get the youngsters off the course and back in the safety of the clubhouse before the peak of the bad weather.
The Scots won the boys' match 8-4 and the girls' match by an even more emphatic 5-1 margin. Overall, that meant a Scotland 13-5 victory scoreline.
Hugh Hunter, past president of the Scottish Golf Union and an official of the Scottish Schools Golf Association, said:
"I cannot remember when Scotland won both the boys' and girls' matches on the same day. In fact, England have dominated the series in recent years so it is good for the competition that Scotland have become competitive again at schools level.
"Just like the Walker Cup, there's no doubt that the wind was a big factor in the home victory. The Scotland boys and girls showed a lot of spirit in coping with the conditions better than their opponents, in the main."
Hugh Hunter later did some research of the past results and was able to reveal to www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk that the last win by the Scotland boys in this international was in 2007. The Scotland girls last won in 2005 although they did gain an honourable draw in 2009. The last time both the Scotland boys and girls team won simultaneously was in 1979.
+Lauren Whyte and Lawrence Allan, captains of the Scotland girls' and boys' teams pictured below with the trophies (Image by courtesy of Hugh Hunter).
RESULTS
Scotland names first
SCOTLAND SCHOOLBOYS 8, ENGLAND SCHOOLBOYS 4
SCOTLAND SCHOOLGIRLS 5, ENGLAND SCHOOLGIRLS 1
Ailsa Summers (Dundee City) bt Shelby Smart (Avon) 4 and 3.
Jessica Meek (Angus) lost to Georgina Mundy (Hampshire) 3 and 1.
Lauren Whyte (Fife) bt Emily-Mae Hall (Derbyshire) 6 and 5.
Linsey Stevenson (Glasgow) bt Alison Knowles (Yorkshire) 2 and 1.
Kimberley Beveridge (South Aberdeenshire) bt Dulcie Sverdloff (Essex) 1 hole.
Clara Young (East Lothian) bt Hollie Vizard (Lancashire) 3 and 2.
