Scott hopes reunion with Lawrie is a winning one

Nick Rodger

Golf Correspondent

Saturday 14 April 2012

A DECADE has passed since Ewan Scott first met Paul Lawrie.

Ewan Scott is aiming to become the first golfer from St Andrews to win the Boys' title since Lachlan Carver in 1960

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Nick Rodger

Today at Murcar Links, the St Andrews youngster will be hoping the former Open champion greets him with the Scottish Boys' Championship trophy.

Scott, 16, will take on the Peebles teenager Craig Howie in the 36-hole final of the junior showpiece that Lawrie's foundation is sponsoring. And nobody can say the last two standing don't deserve their place in the spotlight.

While Scott overcame the spirited semi-final challenge of Cowglen's Alan Waugh to win by 2 and 1, and Howie edged out Connar Cook of Dundee by a similar margin, it was the duo's battling displays in the morning's quarter-final ties that gave them the impetus to plough on.Howie fought back from four down after seven against Jake Scott, of Buckpool, before winning on the 19th while Scott, four down through five against the highly-rated Bradley Neil from Blairgowrie, rallied and holed a decisive 10-footer for par on the last to win by one hole as his opponent three-putted from 20 feet."That was probably the most important putt of the whole day," admitted the Fifer as he mulled over an eventful day of competition on a bitterly cold north-east coast.Back in May 2002, a certain Mr Lawrie was the guest of honour at the official launch of the St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association and a six-year-old Scott was among those in attendance. Today will provide an opportunity for reaquaintance."I'll never forget that day," added Scott, who is aiming to become the first golfer from St Andrews to win the Boys' title since Lachlan Carver in 1960. "I remember Paul played the first two holes of the Balgove course with us and chatted away. It might be fate if he hands me the trophy here."Before that can be achieved, Scott will have to stave off the menace of Howie. The 17-year-old, whose Peebles club-mate Ailsa Bain won the Scottish Girls' crown at Lanark in 2009, confessed that he's not been at his best for much of the week.He has still been good enough to reach the final though, and now he has the chance to strike a telling blow for Borders golf.Murray Cleghorn from Selkirk was a runner-up in this championship back in 1964 while Craig Hislop, a resident of the Muckle Toon of Langholm, from where this correspondent hails, lifted the title at West Kilbride in 1991."It's a pretty rare occasion for a Borders player to be in this position," said a smiling Howie, who had found himself on the back foot in most of his ties but took charge of his last-four clash with Cook and surged into an early four-hole advantage through seven."I've not really been playing great but it clicked this afternoon. This is the sort of course where you can make a comeback on if you're behind and I've proved that on more than one occasion this week." Scott has been warned.

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Scott hopes reunion with Lawrie is a winning one

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