Knowles confident of a good Scottish performance despite a largely inexperienced team

Golf Correspondent

Wednesday 15 August 2012

It may not have been a vintage campaign on the individual front this season but Scott Knowles, the Scotland captain, remains confident that the collective force of his side can make an impression in the Home Internationals at Glasgow Gailes this week.

Scotland team competing for the Raymond Trophy at Glasgow Gailes Golf Club are, left to right, Ross Bell, Graeme Robertson, Scott Barrowman, Paul Ferrier, Jack McDonald, Grant Forrest, James White, Matt Clarke, Brian Soutar, Fraser McKenna and Paul Shields.

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Apart from Brian Soutar's win in the South African Open at the start of March and the semi-final appearances of Jack McDonald and Paul Ferrier in June's Amateur Championship, there has been little else to get excited about on the international stage.

With the likes of Michael Stewart, David Law, Ross Kellett and James Byrne all moving on to the professional ranks in the last year, Knowles has lost a strong backbone to his team. Only four players from the 11-man squad, namely Soutar, Paul Shields, James White and Graeme Robertson, have any past Home Internationals experience but Knowles remains confident that the players left at his disposal can rise to the occasion on Ayrshire soil and prove the doubters wrong."We lost eight players from last year and that has had a big impact," said Knowles, who is now in his fourth and final year as captain of the national team. "It has been a tricky year selection wise but now it's time for some of the new faces to step up and make their marks."McDonald and Ferrier, who required physio sessions yesterday on niggling knee and neck strains but are now back to full fitness, join a new look side that also includes Ross Bell, Matthew Clark, Fraser McKenna, Scott Borrowman and recently crowned Scottish champion Grant Forrest."There has been plenty of talk about the performances this season and people have questioned why certain players are in the team," added Knowles. "But all the boys are raring to go and hopefully this will be the week when they hit peak form. We've gone into the Home Internationals before with exceptional teams that have been expected to win but didn't."The Scots, who have not lifted the Raymond Trophy since 2006, face a testing opener against an Irish side that won the contest the last time it was held on Scottish turf, at Muirfield in 2008, and is spearheaded by Alan Dunbar, the winner of the Amateur Championship at nearby Royal Troon a couple of months ago.

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Knowles confident of a good Scottish performance despite a largely inexperienced team

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