AYRSHIRE ORDER OF MERIT EVENTS- Counting competitions cancelled in both men's and boy's order of merit

Counting competitions for both the Ayrshire Junior Order Of Merit and the Doc Thom Ayrshire Order Of Merit have been cancelled in recent days.

In the Junior Order Of Merit, the Pollock Trophy on Tuesday 25th July at Kilmarnock (Barassie) was not played for the third successive year, lack of entries again forcing organisers to cancel the event. This is the second Junior Order Of Merit event to be cancelled this year following the Largs Junior Open which also fell victim to lack of entries.

The trend by junior golfers to anticipate being able to enter competitions late, or even on the day of the event, is a worrying one which, due to its prevalence, is seriously undermining the viability of running junior open competitions for many clubs. If the trend of not entering by or before the published closing date continues, there is a real risk that the number of club junior opens, and thus opportunities for junior golfers to experience other courses, will be drastically reduced in years to come, with clubs likely to opt not to run such events.

In the Doc Thom Ayrshire Order Of Merit, the Rowallan Castle Open, which was to have been a counting event in late August, has been cancelled this year.