TWO East Lothian golfers are hoping to help Scotland lift a trophy at an international tournament for the first time in nearly a decade.
Angus Carrick (Craigielaw) and Connor Wilson (Castle Park) are part of the 11-strong team taking part in the R&A Men’s Home Internationals.
The tournament, which features England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is being contested at Hankley Common Golf Club, Surrey, and comes to a close tomorrow (Friday).
Matt Clark, who is captaining the team, is making a ninth consecutive appearance in the competition, which started yesterday (Wednesday).
This year’s Scottish champion Carrick, and Wilson, who he defeated in the final of the Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship at Murcar Links, near Aberdeen, are making their debuts in the event.
Together, the duo, along with Andrew Ni (Murrayfield), were part of the winning Lothians team at the recent Scottish Men’s Area Team Championship.
The captain described it as “an honour” for everyone to pull on their national jersey.
He said: “As we saw at the Olympics, there is nothing quite like representing your country, no matter your chosen sport.
“We have a talented team, we know we have strong opponents to face but they won’t fancy playing us either.
“We have four debutants in the event and it’s fantastic to see Andrew Ni make the trip back across the Atlantic, Ruben Lindsay make his men’s bow, Connor Wilson cap a fine year and Angus Carrick, whose form has continued since his Scottish Amateur win, join the seven who have been here before.
“It’s a great mix of youth and experience and it’s time we took the Raymond Trophy back north of the Border.”
This year marks the 80th time the Men’s Home Internationals have been played since the competition was first contested, with Scotland bidding to win the Raymond Trophy for the first time since 2012.
The competition is contested using a round robin matchplay format in which the 11-man teams play against each other once over the three days.
Individual matches consist of five morning foursomes and 10 afternoon singles, with the winner being the country which accumulates the most match points.
In the 79 Men’s Home Internationals played since 1932, England have won 38 times, Scotland 21, Ireland 12 and Wales once. The other seven competitions were tied.
Live scoring is at randa.org
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