53 year old Billy Cairns, who only joined the association this year, won the competition on the day, whilst John Pennycott (Whiting Bay) was named in the Scotland team to contest The Auld Enemies Cup against England from 13th to 18th September at The Shire Golf Club in London.
(Report from the Scottish Disability Golf Partnership website at http://www.sdgp.org.uk/)
Disabled golfers from across Scotland travelled to the prestigious Lundin Golf Club in Fife on Wednesday 20th August 2014 to participate in the final team qualifier for Scottish Disability Golf’s Order of Merit Championship 2014.
Winners from the day, along with other selected Scots golfers, were competing for places for the fourth Auld Enemies Cup Team against England from Saturday 13 to Thursday 18 September, at the Shire Golf Club in London.
In what is expected to be a fiercely fought battle over four days of unique competition, with all the thrills and spills associated with the famous Ryder Cup, Incorporating disabled players from throughout the UK, it will include foursomes and four ball’s formats, with the winning team being crowned champions after the traditionally tense singles matches on the final day. Both the Scottish and English have spent months in training for this hugely competitive event. Both teams include players with various disabilities such as amputees, stroke and car accident victims, members who are blind and golfers with cerebral palsy, as well as many other disabilities.
Team Scotland Captain, Stevie Cunningham said, “Lundin were fantastic hosts for this final qualifier and what a superb course to play on. There have been a few changes from last year’s team due to some players not being available but I believe that we have a very strong team this year with a full range of golf handicaps and disabilities. This gives me plenty of options for pairing selections. Picking this year’s team was no easy task as there were so many good players vying for a place but unfortunately I just couldn’t pick them all”
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| Billy Cairns |
The winners on the day at Lundin Golf Club were: Billy Cairns of Ayrshire, with Bob Drysdale of Tayport lying second and Alan Robertson of Stirling in third.
Alan Robertson of Stirling said,
“I have never played in a competition of this type before & am thrilled if not a little nervous. This type of event is a real showcase for disabled golf as it covers the whole spectrum of disabilities & is not restricted to just one. I am sure that all the members of the SDGP will wish the team all the best in trying to win this year’s match”.
Team Scotland, selected from the Scottish Order of Merit Championship Tables and the Captain’s “picks,, for 2014 are:
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| John Pennycott |
Stevie Cunningham (Captain) (Clackmananshire)
Trevor Crombie (Fife)
Derek Milne (Fife)
Bob Drysdale (Fife)
John Pennycott (Arran)
Jim Thomson (Millport)
Kerr Scott (Glasgow)
Derek Milne (Fife)
Ian White (Lanarkshire)
Alan Robertson (Stirling)
Andy Gardner (Fridwell)
Paul Cunningham (Biggleswade)
Kevin Harmison of (Bedlington)
Jim Gales (Fife)
Paul Shepherd (Fife)
Trevor Crombie, the current leader in the Scottish Order of Merit Championship said
“Although it’s called the Auld Enemies Cup, we know a lot of the English team and the whole competition will be a good hearted affair, although I’m sure that everyone wants to go out and win their games. I know the banter and camaraderie will be great, especially when we ‘send them hameward tae think again’!!
In this “Ryder Cup” year at Gleneagles, the SDGP are also very proud to have generated two other international Ryder Cup style events since it was created in 2004. The first is between a World against a North American team of disabled golfers, which will take place in Nevada this October and the second, which began this year, is a UK Wide event and held in Scotland.
