Eathan Upton wins Helensburgh Golf Club's junior open title

Birdies at the fourth and 13th holes, combined with 14 pars and two bogeys, saw the Clydebank and District youngster card an impressive level par round of 69 to win the competition’s scratch prize.

Eathan’s net score of 67 was also the lowest of the day, though with competition rules dictating that the same player couldn’t win both prizes, instead the honour of winning net score went to Helensburgh member Saul McGinley.

Playing off a competition handicap of 14, Saul completed his round in 83 shots (net 69), with the highlight of his round being a birdie three at the tough dogleg sixth hole.

The tournament, held on August 1, marked a real resurgence in interest among younger players of the game both in Helensburgh and beyond after a fallow period in which the tournament was last held more than a decade ago.

Clydebank and District's Eathan Upton won the scratch prize and also posted the competition's lowest net score. (Image: Helensburgh Golf Club)

The Helensburgh Boys’ Open, first held in 1975, was once a key event on the Scottish junior golf circuit; at its peak, the tournament spanned a full week with a 36 hole stroke play qualification phase followed by knockout stages to determine the champion.

Entrants travelled from all over the UK and abroad, and many past participants went on to have highly successful amateur careers, with several making it onto the Scottish and European professional tours.

Unfortunately a downward trend in the number of junior golfers in Scotland saw entries dwindle.

But with an upsurge in the junior membership at Helensburgh, and with the full support of both the club’s committee and the Dunbartonshire Golf Union (DGU), junior convener Mark Tynan’s decision to organise and run the event paid off in spades, with a field of nearly 30 participants, including golfers from several local clubs, enjoying excellent playing conditions as a dreich early morning gave way to glorious sunshine.

Craig Fortune (Clober GC), son of former Helensburgh club champion Neil Fortune, set the early pace; playing off a competition handicap of +1, his round of 70 (net 71) included 17 pars and a single bogey, only to be pipped at the post by Upton for the scratch honours and then by Saul for the best net score.

Saul McGinley won the trophy for the best net score of the tournament. (Image: Helensburgh Golf Club)

Tynan said: “What a year it has been for junior golf across Dunbartonshire. There really is a great future for our young competitors.

“It was a privilege to watch the players on Thursday and I'm really looking forward to what next year brings to our golfing community.”

Meanwhile, the ties in the knockout stages of the club championship at Helensburgh have been taking place over recent weeks, with finals day due to be held this Sunday, August 11.

The ladies’ championship final will have a familiar feel to it as defending champion Gemma Canham and last year’s runner up June Haggarty will face off once again.

Gemma, a nine-time winner, secured her place in the final by defeating Jackie Lightfoot in her last four tie, whilst June saw off the challenge of Babs Robertson in her side of the draw. 

In the gents’ championship top seed James McKechnie continued his superb recent form to defeat Mark Tynan in the last 16, setting up a quarter final tie with Simon Barass, who overcame Shey Donald in the first knockout stage.

Unfortunately for James, his excellent performance in qualifying for the latter stages of the Scottish Amateur Championship meant he was unable to fulfil his last eight tie so, under the competition rules, Simon progressed into the last four.

In the semi finals, due for completion no later than this Friday, Simon will face last year’s losing finalist Scott Barclay; Scott earned his semi final berth by beating Craig Robbie in the last 16, and followed this up with a hard fought victory over Terry Smith, who had progressed to the quarters by eliminating Iain Carswell.

In the other half of the draw second seed Peter Haggarty eliminated Jack Armstrong to reach the quarter finals, setting up a tie against Gary Potter, who had narrowly defeated Craig Bonthrone in the first knockout stage.

In the tie of the competition so far, Gary edged out Peter in an enthralling match, describing his four-under-par front nine as “some of the best golf I’ve ever played” as he opened up a three-hole lead at the turn.

Peter showed the grit and determination that have taken him to 13 previous championship victories to level things up after 18 holes, but it was Gary who held his nerve to seal victory on the first extra hole with a dramatic birdie.

Waiting for Gary in the semi final is defending champion Graeme Proud, whose route to the last four saw him post victories against Dom Taylor and then, in a quarter final clash that went to the final hole, against Alan Birnie.

Both semi final ties will take place this week in advance of Sunday’s final.

In addition to the ladies and gents scratch club championships Sunday’s golf will see five other winners crowned, with the Bronze championship for Division 2 lady golfers to  be contested by Dorothy Mickel and Carol Bews.

The thriving junior section will be represented with scratch and handicap matchplay finals taking place on the day.

Completing the match programme are the finals of the gents Peel Trophy (for 9 to 18 handicappers) and 1963 Trophy (for 19+ handicappers). Finalists for the junior and gents events are still to be determined.

The full finals day fixtures will be published on the club’s Facebook page no later than Saturday, August 10.

The first tee off on Sunday is expected to be at 9am, and the club would be delighted to welcome spectators to watch any of the finals, especially friends and family of the finalists.

Food and refreshments will be available in the clubhouse from 11am with presentation of trophies expected to take place at approximately 4.30pm.

Finally, local golfer James McKechnie can hold his head high after a strong performance at the Scottish Amateur Championship last week.

Representing The Carrick, James qualified comfortably for the matchplay stages before eventually losing in the last 32 to Alexander Farmer, who used the victory as a catalyst to kick on and win the trophy.

The prestigious annual event, which boasts Ryder Cup heroes Robert MacIntyre and Colin Montgomerie among its list of past winners, was staged over two venues this year, the Castle Course and Fairmount St Andrews’ Torrance Course.

Entering the event James had been in excellent form, having won the club championship at The Carrick earlier this year, while more recently he shot a glorious round of 65 to clinch top seeding in the club championship at Helensburgh Golf Club.

His fine form continued as scores of 74 and 71 in the two strokeplay rounds saw him qualify for the 64 player matchplay stage as 28th seed - an impressive feat given he was competing against a field of 264 players.

In the first knockout phase, the round of 64, James came up against Stuart Blair of Royal Musselburgh GC, and a solid performance saw him emerge victorious by a 3&2 margin.

James started his last-32 tie against Farmer, a student at Stirling University, well and had eked out a three-hole lead by the 11th, but his opponent demonstrated outstanding resilience to claw back the deficit and take the match to the 19th hole where he eventually prevailed.

The only downside to James’s fine run in the national event was a clash of dates meaning he was unable to challenge for the championship at Helensburgh.

Speaking after the tournament, James said: “My goal at the start of the week was to finish top 64 and make it to the matchplay stages for the first time so I was happy to achieve this and go one round further.

“I had a great battle with Alexander, who birdied the 19th to win the match against me. I am delighted for him to go on and win the whole championship.

“I’ll take a lot of confidence from this week and look forward to competing at that level again in the future.”