On Thursday 26 July 2018, 6-man teams of juniors representing Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire gathered at a sunny Kirkcudbright Golf Course for their annual competition for the Fraser Shield.
The format was to be scratch stroke play with the best four scores from each County to count towards the team total. The team with the lowest total would be the winners.
The course was in immaculate condition with the ball running miles on the bone hard fairways and if hit correctly stopping quickly on the well-manicured greens.
All the boys and two girls found the conditions to their liking and many scored within their buffer zone.
Sam Mitchell had a very solid 71, with two eagles at the par 5’s, but the rest of the Wigtownshire team could not support him and they finished third with a team total of 334. Vanessa Ho had a net 69 and Logan Hare a net 68
Kirkcudbrightshire fared little better, Callum McMillan shot a magnificent 70, one over par with four birdies, and the best round of the day. His team mates were unable to follow his example and a total of 323 shots was their best effort and second place. Christopher Wilson had a super net 67 and Aidan Lockhart and Ailsa Brannock net 71’s.
Five scores in the 70’s were good enough to let Dumfriesshire reclaim the Fraser Shield with the pick of the team a score of 74 from Mitchell Cowie and Finlay Copland. David Sharp could have equalled them if his massive drives up the fairways of seventeen and eighteen had been found.
The CSS for the boys was 69 and the girls 72.
Individual Scores
DUMFRIESSHIRE
74 Mitchell Cowie
74 Finlay Copland
75 Ciaran Howat
76 Jamie Marchbank
79 David Sharp
82 Ben Marshall
KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE
70 Callum McMillan
80 Ailsa Brannock
81 Chris Wilson
92 Jack Norman
98 Patrick Innes
109 Aidan Lockart
WIGTOWNSHIRE
71 Sam Mitchell
84 Kaleb Johnston
87 Vanessa Ho
92 Finlay Hare
92 Harry Hay
92 Logan Hare
The Photograph shows the Dumfriesshire team being presented with the Fraser Shield by Mrs Jean Forrest, South of Scotland Vice-President. From the left: David Sharp, Jamie Marchbank, Ben Marshall. Mitchell Cowie, Ciaran Howat and Finlay Copland.