Rising stars awarded

TWO OF Scotland’s hottest talents are celebrating after capping off the 2012 season with prestigious national awards.

Scott Borrowman and Jack McDonald have performed brilliantly over the course of the year, earning the SGU Men’s Order of Merit and Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year titles, respectively.

Borrowman, 25, a member of Scotland’s victorious Home Internationals team at Glasgow Gailes, finished top of the SGU standings after a hugely consistent season. The former national youths champion made his full Scotland debut at Gailes and played his part in the host nation’s first triumph for six years, collecting one and a half points.

IMPRESSIVE
Borrowman posted six top-tens in 11 OOM events, including a runner-up finish in the Newlands Trophy and third place at both the Leven Gold Medal and the East of Scotland Stroke Play. The Clackmannanshire player finished just nine ranking points ahead of the fast-finishing Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) and Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm).

Borrowman said: “It’s frustrating I’ve not won in 2012, but I’ve been consistent throughout and moved in the right direction the whole year. I’ve already begun working on what I need to do this winter. The target for next year is to win on the circuit.”

University of Stirling student McDonald, meanwhile, capped his best year so far by following in the spike marks of previous recipients of the Amateur Golfer of the Year accolade - including Steven O’Hara, Richie Ramsay and last year’s winner, Michael Stewart - as the leading Scot on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The 19-year-old, a former SGU National Boys’ Squad member, started his season by claiming the British Universities Men’s title before finishing tied third at the Golf Data Lab Scottish Youths Championship at Ladybank in May.

However, it was at The Amateur at Royal Troon and Gailes Links in June when his year really caught fire. Playing in front of home crowds in Ayrshire, McDonald went on a glory run to the semi-finals, before losing out to Austrian Matthias Schwab.

As a result, McDonald rocketed up the world rankings and gained invites to the Scottish Open and the Johnnie Walker, before ending his season on a high by collecting four-and-a-half points on his Home Internationals debut. “It’s been quite a whirlwind,” said the 2009 Scottish Boys Stroke Play champion. “I’ll look to do the same things with Dean Robertson (High Performance Golf Coach) at the University of Stirling and with the SGU. Hopefully I
can have an even better season next year.”

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