Golfing girls on course for occasion to cherish

They will be playing a role in the handover ceremony for the 2019 Solheim Cup coming to Scotland, after launching their own bid for the PING Junior Solheim Cup.

Through the support of the Scottish Government, VisitScotland, Scottish Golf and the Ladies European Tour, the ladies have been selected for a dream trip to this year’s Solheim Cup at Des Moines Golf & Country Club, taking place in Iowa from August 18-20.

The initiative was borne from a Whatsapp group started by some of the girls following Scotland’s successful bid to stage the 2019 Solheim Cup.

Entitled #Project19, the group began as a way of the girls motivating each other to climb the amateur golf rankings and qualify to represent Team Europe at the 2019 PING Junior Solheim Cup, taking place at Gleneagles.

Now Eilidh – along with Hannah Darling (Broomieknowe), Rachel Foster (Turnberry), Evanna Hynd (Balbirnie Park), Carmen Griffiths (Aboyne) and Anna McKay (Crail Golfing Society) – will experience the thrill of the biggest team event in female golf, before the baton is passed from the US venue to Gleneagles for the 2019 staging over the PGA Centenary Course.

The Scottish Golf Academy players, all but one of whom have come through the ClubGolf national junior programme, will engage with Team Europe at the PING Junior Solheim Cup, work with the VisitScotland team on stand producing blogs and other media content, experience the excitement around the event where Scotland’s Catriona Matthew is a vice-captain, and form a part of the handover ceremony to Gleneagles and Scotland for the 2019 event.

In a further thrill, the six girls will also be part of two Pro-Am teams competing in the star-studded Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns Golf Links on Tuesday, August 1, offering them a superb opportunity to gain valuable experience in a professional environment.

The 2019 Solheim Cup, incorporating the PING Junior Solheim Cup, is to be staged at Gleneagles from September 9-15.