SCOTTISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP - Wilson bids for Welbeck hat trick

(From the SGU website)

Dumfries and County’s Liam Johnston will play Troon Welbeck’s David Wilson in tomorrow’s Scottish Boys Championship final after both players stormed to victories this afternoon at Dunbar.

Johnston, runner-up in last year’s SGU Boys Order of Merit, proved to be too strong for North Berwick youngster Calum Hill as he racked up an impressive 6 and 5 semi-final win. Wilson, aiming to becoming the second Troon Welbeck player to win the trophy in the space of four years, overcame the challenge of St Andrews’ Benjamin Kinsley to earn his place in the final with a 3 and 2 victory.

It was Johnston who came out of the blocks quickly in his match, winning the opening two holes with a par and a birdie although a rare mistake at the short third allowed Hill to pull him back to one. Johnston pulled four holes clear with a par at the fourth and an excellent birdie two at the fifth before Hill hit back with his first birdie of the afternoon at the seventh.

Hill’s challenge came unstuck as a double-bogey at the tenth put Johnston four up again and the Scotland Boys international clinched the match in style with a birdie three at the thirteenth to become the first South golfer to reach the boys final since John Hempstock’s title win at West Kilbride in 2002.

" didn’t expect to be in the final at the start of the week but I’m happy to be here,” said a delighted Johnston after his round. “My coach Brian Gemmell told me that I had a good enough game to go all the way but also just to go out and enjoy myself.”

“My game plan was to keep the pressure on when I got in front, hit greens and make my opponents work and that’s what I’ve done in both matches today. It was a tougher match than the score suggests and Calum (Hill) has a good future ahead of him with a few more chances in this event.” he added.

Wilson, the Ayrshire Boys Match Play Champion for the past two years, bogeyed the par five first hole but levelled the match with an excellent two-putt par from long range at the third. He moved to one up when Kinsley found trouble at the sixth and the Troon 16-year-old never looked back from there, producing two more birdies and a run of consistent golf to close out the match with two holes to go.

“I’d been playing really solid golf coming into this week so I expected to do well here at Dunbar. I thought if I could play to my potential I could come good eventually,” admitted Wilson, a one-handicapper. “It would be pretty special to get my name on the trophy as the Scottish Boys Championship is such a big event.

Wilson, a pupil at Marr College, will be aiming to become the second Troon Welbeck player to win the title at Dunbar after Andrew McQueen, who tasted victory on the famous East Lothian links back in 1985.

The final will take place tomorrow (Saturday) over 36 holes with the opening tee-shots at 8.30am and the second round commencing at 1.00pm. Spectators are encouraged to come along and watch two of Scotland’s finest junior golfers in action.