We were delighted to attend The R&A Junior Open at Kilmarnock (Barassie), which was held the week before the 152nd Open, just a few miles down the coast from Royal Troon.
For the first time since the Championship’s inauguration in 2000, this year sees separate boys and girls competing for their own Junior Open Championship, making the game even more inclusive and accessible for all.
Assembling to play at Barassie were 120 competitors, aged 12-16, from 70 different nations in a truly cosmopolitan field, from China to Angola and Haiti to Sri Lanka.
“As a charity who are all about introducing the game of golf to young people from all backgrounds, the Junior Open is huge,” said Brendon Pyle, CEO of the Golf Foundation. “A number of the kids we reach are picking up a club for the first time and some of them will go on to discover a lifelong love of the game. While we teach mental toughness skills for life, and all about the joy of golf, the competitive side is important too. Some youngsters want to challenge themselves to succeed, and knowing the pathway is out there and easily accessible is massive. It’s fantastic that The R&A is able to offer this chance to young players from all over the world to enjoy a once in a lifetime tournament in Scotland.”
Maddison Carroll from The Bahamas is, at 13, one of the youngest qualifiers in the field, and she travelled over for her first trip to Scotland with fellow player Aidan Gorospe, her Grandmother Dorothea and Gina Gonzalez-Rolle from their golf federation. Maddison started her golf aged four with encouragement from her Mum and Aunt.
“I love the course here,” Maddison said. “You really have to pick your spots where to hit the ball and this can make all the difference. The greens are fast and you have to get the pace right and let the putts break. Very different from home and I’m excited by the challenge.”
“We are very proud and happy to be here,” added her grandmother, “enjoying the weather, meeting the Scottish people and their hospitality which has been, as we say in the Bahamas, ‘off the chain’ [excellent]’.”
Kai Notteboom from Switzerland, aged 14, took up the game aged five, and qualified by winning his nation’s U16 championship. “I love everything about the game,” he said. “Everything! It is also great that by reading about us this week we can motivate more youngsters to play golf.”
The Golf Foundation team is present all week at The Open at Royal Troon as guests of The R&A, where together with Scottish Golf they are welcoming youngsters and their families, and invited groups of children from the region’s golf clubs, to enjoy some golf games and challenges while following the main event.
