LOTHIANS BID FOR RECORD 10th SCOTTISH BOYS' AREA TEAM TITLE

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION

Defending champions Lothians will have a record tenth title in their sights when the 2011 Scottish boys' area team championship, supported by Dunfermline Building Society, gets underway at Hayston GC on the outskirts of Glasgow this Sunday (June 5).

Two of the players who enjoyed success at Peebles last year retain their places in the side, with former Scottish boys' champion Grant Forrest lining up alongside Liberton's Anthony Blaney ( also a Gullane member and Junior Team Player ) for the second year in a row. The duo combined superbly in the morning foursomes twelve months ago with a superb four-under par 66, setting their side up for a four-shot victory over Lanarkshire.

They will be joined by Scottish Golf Academy player Callum Hill, a semi-finalist in the national match play championship at Dunbar and Newbattle youngster Lee Morgan, who makes his first appearance in the team.

The recently crowned Scottish boys' champion David Wilson (Troon Welbeck) heads a strong Ayrshire quartet with 2008 Scottish boys' stroke-play champion Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) also in the side alongside clubmate Euan Walker and another promising Troon Welbeck member, Charlie MacNeal.

Last year’s silver medallists Lanarkshire will be aiming to go one better this time around and their line-up features Junior Champion of Champions winner Craig Ross (Kirkhill) and Mount Ellen’s Eamon Bradley, who performed well in last week’s Scottish men's stroke-play championship at Blairgowrie.

Host Area Dumbartonshire, looking for a seventh championship win, include Angus Carrick, son of former Scottish amateur champion David, while Fife, whose men’s side won the recent Scottish area team championship, go in search of an historic double with a side featuring Scottish boys' championship semi-finalist Benjamin Kinsley (St Andrews).

Meanwhile, the Argyll and Bute boys side, eyeing a first title win, features 14-year-old Bob MacInytre (Glencruitten)( playing in US Kids ) , who shot to prominence with a win in the recent SGU Junior Tour event at Rowallan Castle.

Sixteen Area Associations will compete in the Scottish boys' area team championship, supported by Dunfermline Building Society, with the four leading Under-18s in each area being selected for the teams. The format is two foursomes pairings in the morning with four singles in the afternoon.

Dunfermline Building Society supports the championship for the second year in a row, having been a partner of the Scottish Golf Union since 2007. Through their Fairway Saver Savings Account, more than £30,000 has been invested in grass roots golf in Scotland, with the opportunity for golfers to open an account available at Dunfermline Building Society’s 34 branches across Scotland. For more information visit www.dunfermline.com

Hayston Golf Club is located is located one mile from Kirkintilloch on the north- east side of Glasgow and the James Braid-designed parkland course is a gently undulating, tree-lined lay-out which will prove an enjoyable challenge for the country’s leading young golfers.

Click here for the draw and team list.