The kids are alright. Two events over the weekend proved once again that if you give the young ‘uns a platform upon which to play, then they’ll thrive.

The R&A’s inaugural Girls Under 16 Championship at Fulford was won by the highly talented Scot, Hannah Darling, as she trundled in a birdie putt of 40-feet on the final green to win by a slender margin.

Up at Blairgowrie, meanwhile, the memory of the late Barrie Douglas, the popular Perthshire man who was a tireless advocate of the junior game, was honoured with a fine turn out for the Barrie Douglas Scottish Junior Masters, which was won by Airdrie’s Greg Dalziel.

Stephen Gallacher, the former Ryder Cup player who was supporting his son, Jack, at Blairgowrie, will host his own Foundation’s junior event again this season and the European Tour winner is hoping such events can continue to bear fruit as the home of the game look to bring through a new generation.

“The more competitive tournaments like this with ranking points at stake, and with national selectors looking on, the more chance the kids have to perform and gain experience,” he said.

As for Darling? Well, those in the domestic amateur scene are well aware of her qualities.

Last summer, at the age of just 13, she became the youngest ever winner of the Scottish Girls’ Amateur Championship at Scotscraig.

The Broomieknowe teenager, who is striving for selection to the European Junior Solheim Cup team when the main event heads to Scotland next year, won three titles during the 2017 campaign. Her latest success at the weekend, against a strong international field, underlined her potential.

There is a big push from the various governing bodies to get more women into the game and capitalise on a market which, in this country at least, remains woefully untapped.

Of course, years of neglect and, in some cases, downright hostility to female golfers caused significant damage and that won’t be cured overnight.

David Patrick, the current Scottish girls and women’s coach, is optimistic about the new batch coming through while Shannon McWilliam’s inclusion in the GB&I Curtis Cup team is another step in the right direction.

It remains a work in progress but the likes of Darling show that there is good work being done.