Alexander Culverwell rewarded with Scotland call-up

Alexander Culverwell, the new Fairstone Scottish Amateur champion, has quickly been rewarded for his success at Blairgowrie after being handed a Scotland debut for next week’s Home Internationals at Ganton.

The 25-year-old from Dunbar, who defeated James White 2&1 in Saturday’s 36-hole final over the Lansdowne Course, has been handed a selector’s pick for the 11-man team aiming to defend Great Britain and Ireland’s premier amateur team title.

Culverwell proved his matchplay credentials at last year’s Scottish Amateur in reaching the last 16 at Royal Dornoch, before the University of Stirling business studies student went all the way to glory in Perthshire. Now he is relishing the chance of a first international cap as the Scots seek to defend the title they won for the first time in six years at Glasgow Golf Club’s Gailes Links 12 months ago.

“I knew my win was going to open up a lot of opportunities,” said Culverwell. “My win at Blairgowrie was the best golf I’ve ever played.”

Culverwell is one of six picks in total, with the other five qualifying automatically either from the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) or the SGU Men’s Order of Merit (OOM). Five automatic places were up for grabs on the WAGR and two via the OOM, but to fulfil the automatic selection criteria a player must be in both the OOM top-15 and in the top-15 Scots on the WAGR. With 19 July the date for automatic selection after the Sutherland Chalice, Glenbervie’s Graeme Robertson, 
St Andrews’ Ewan Scott and James Ross of Royal Burgess booked their spots from the WAGR. Last year’s Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) and Scott Crichton (Aberdour), who has posted four top-three’s in recent weeks, also met the automatic selection as the top two on the OOM.

With Culverwell securing the last of the six picks, the other five went to last year’s Scottish Amateur champion Grant Forrest (Craigielaw), the Scottish Boys winner Bradley Neil from Blairgowrie, the 2012 SGU Men’s Order of Merit winner Scott Borrowman (Dollar), Sutherland Chalice champion Matt Clark of Kilmacolm and Cameron Corbett Vase victor Daniel Young (Craigie Hill).