EAST Lothian is set to welcome more than 600 of the world’s best young golfers for the 12th US Kids Golf European Championship next week.

They will battle it out for top spots in the tournament, which will be played at Musselburgh GC, The Renaissance Club, Glen GC, Craigielaw GC, Longniddry GC and Royal Musselburgh GC.

Last year’s US Kids Golf European Championship saw a field of more than 630 players and their families travelling from more than 50 countries to compete in Europe’s premier junior golf tournament. A similar attendance is expected this year.

There is an opening ceremony on Monday evening at Gosford House, near Longniddry – the family seat of the Earl of Wemyss and March – before play gets under way from Tuesday to next Thursday (May 30).

The Van Horn Cup will be played for next Friday (May 31) at Gullane Golf Club in a one-day best ball tournament contested between the top players from Western Europe and the top players from the rest of the world.

Alasdair Good, head professional at Gullane, was instrumental in the US Kids Golf European Championship being staged in East Lothian for the past 12 years, having forged links through the Wee Wonders British Championships which he founded in 1995 at Foxhills Golf Club for 5-12-year-olds.

Over the years, Wee Wonders has seen many talented golfers come through the ranks and go on to achieve big things in the world of professional golf, including Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood, who were integral to Europe winning the 2018 Ryder Cup.

It has also had numerous former Wonders picking up victories across the European and Ladies European Tours, including Aaron Rai and Charley Hull.

Good said: “We have been lucky to see many of the big events in East Lothian. Gullane hosted the Scottish Open last year and it is coming back to East Lothian this year, to The Renaissance Club.

“The US Kids Golf European Championship is another high-quality event and people love it, and love to come to it.”

Royal Musselburgh is hosting the biggest field of players, followed by Musselburgh, which is ready to welcome more than 100 young golfers for the second year running.

With experience of hosting the event for the first time last year, Musselburgh GC is delighted to build on its success after positive feedback from the young golfers and their parents.

Firm favourites nachos and burgers, among other dishes, are on the menu as the clubhouse team gears up to cater for hungry participants, their families and volunteers from the club who help with the organisation of the tournament.

Ian Lockhart, Musselburgh Golf Club’s US Kids Golf organiser, once again formed a working group to put an action plan in place ahead of the competition.

He said: “We have got the same groups of players – boys aged nine, girls 12 and girls 13-14.

“We enjoyed hosting the groups last year. There were players from 26 different countries. You hope that they remember the course with fond memories and come back and play it as adults, and bring some friends to get the course better known throughout Europe.

“When you do it once, you hope to get asked again and we got fantastic feedback. The whole week went really well. Hopefully this is the start of a long relationship from our perspective.

“It’s not just about the tournament, it’s about trying to show children in Musselburgh that there’s things going on and get them involved in golf, and keep them involved. It would be good to see some Musselburgh children playing in it at some stage.”

He said the golf club was delighted that the winner of the girls’ competition last year, Pia Babnik, from Slovenia, triumphed in the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Championship at Royal Troon with a seven-shot victory.

The honour of staging the US Kids Golf European Championship also adds to the club’s past prestige as a venue for the Scottish regional qualifier for The Open from 2006 to 2010 and final qualifier in 2013.

Course manager Tommy Shepherd and his greenkeeping staff have been busy ensuring the course in is tip-top condition.

He, along with head professional Norman Huguet, developed a new six-hole course last year, with financial support from Musselburgh Common Good Fund, on a former Musselburgh Rugby Club pitch at Shire Haugh at the end of the main golf course.

Lockhart said this has been further developed to provide proper greens, adding: “It is definitely starting to take shape. The children are loving the small course which is much less intimidating.”