Bradley defends his Scottish title

Jul 13 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

BIG County golfing starlet Bradley Neil retained his Loretto School sponsored Scottish U14s Boys crown at a wet and windy Auchterarder venue, writes Gordon Bannerman.

His landmark triumph provided compensation for missing out on a memorable double, as just 24 hours earlier he was narrowly prevented from claiming the national U16 championship.

Bradley, who hit the headlines recently when he became the youngest ever club champion at Blairgowrie Golf Club, was pipped to the older age group title by Australia-based Swiss player Remo Fueg (16) by a single stroke.

Despite the tricky conditions, the Perthshire kid posted a two over 208 with rounds of 65, 74 and 70.

And Bradley quickly recovered his composure to nail down historic back-to-back U14 titles.

He bounced back from an opening bogey to post an excellent two-under par 67, to win by one from City of Newcastle’s Jack Hermiston.

Bradley said: “At the start of the year my targets were to get down to scratch, get my first Scottish cap and defend my under-14s title. I’ve now achieved them all, which I’m really pleased about.”

Yesterday, Douglas Cleeton, managing secretary at Blairgowrie Golf Club, said: “After winning the silver medal in the U16 championship, Bradley showed terrific ability and concentration in winning and retaining the U14 title.

“The club are enormously proud of Bradley’s achievements, and continue to support him as his game goes from strength to strength.

“Bradley is fortunate in having so many experienced players at Blairgowrie who are keen to advise and assist with the development of his game and mental attitude – the results of which speak for themselves.”

The gifted youngster almost holed his tee shot at the par 3 fourth, setting up a tap-in birdie. The Scottish internationalist’s momentum continued as he went on to birdie the 6th and 7th to help him to two-under par at the turn.

Birdies followed at the 11th and 13th but just as the National Academy prodigy looked like he was going to blow the field away he bogeyed 16 and 18 to finish two-under par.

But that was good enough to retain his title and a delighted Bradley said: “My tee shot at the fourth really got me going. I had bogeyed the first after driving into the bunker off the tee.

“But to get a quick birdie back was really important and set me up for the rest of the round.

“I was delighted to overcome a strong field to defend my title.

“ I didn’t feel too much pressure as I just took it as another round – as I always do.

“I knew it was going to be tough though and that I needed to shoot low to win.”

In the Loretto School Scottish U14s Girls championship, West Kilbride’s Connie Jaffrey triumphed after she posted a two-under par 68 to edge out Clara Young from North Berwick by two shots.

Jonathan Hewett, director of External Affairs at Loretto School Golf Academy, said: “This year’s event was excellent yet again on a fantastic golf course at Auchterarder.

“It was great to see so many good young players here, from Scotland, England and a strong overseas contingent.

“The scoring was very impressive considering the tough conditions and really illustrated the strength of this championship.

“Loretto School is very proud to continue our support of the SGU and SLGA and congratulate both Bradley and Connie on their victories,” he added.

CRIEFF’S Claire Gadsby was tied sixth in the girls U14 event while fellow member Rory Stewart was tied 11th in the boys championship.