Carnoustie’s Jessica Meek and Drumoig’s Connor Syme will both represent Scotland at the World Amateur Team Championships in Mexico next month.
The pair are part of the three-strong women’s and men’s teams competing for the prestigious Espirito Santo and Eisnhower Trophies, the biennial highlights of worldwide amateur golf.
Jess (22), has been in the Scotland international team for the last four years since emerging from Carnoustie Ladies in the Angus town. Now about to enter her fourth year at the University of Missouri, she’ll be joined in the Scotland trio by Rachel Taylor, born in Airdrie but based in Germany where her father is a golf pro, and by Troon Ladies’ Connie Jaffrey.
Syme (21), the Australian Amateur champion, has been one of the dominant players on the men’s amateur circuit this year, winning the strokeplay section of the Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl, playing a leading role for Scotland in their European Team Championship win, and also Great Britain and Ireland as they retained the St Andrews Trophy.
Currently at the US Amateur at Oakland Hills where he is well placed to qualify for the matchplay stages, Connor’s dad Stuart, the current PGA Scotland captain, owns and runs the Drumoig Golf Centre in Fife.
Connor’s team mates will be the highest ranked Scot on the World Amateur Rankings, Craigielaw’s Grant Forrest, and the 2015 Scottish amateur champion and Amateur Championship runner-up Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten).
The selection criteria allowed for the best placed player on the WAGR to qualify automatically plus two pciks, but the selection team have picked the top three in the rankings for both team.
Steve Paulding, Scottish Golf Performance Director, said: “All six players should be congratulated on their selection. The World Championship is always a tough competition and history shows you need players who can score well under par to be in with a chance of a medal.
“Our men’s team is very strong with Grant, Robert and Connor all the top 50 of the world with a proven track record of winning and we should be very competitive in this event, aiming to build on our strong finish two years ago.
“The women’s team have a target of making the top half of the field and with only one player in the top 200 of the world rankings, we have to be realistic as to how competitive they will be against strong opposition.
“However, if they can all perform to the best of their ability, a top 20 finish would be a great result.”
