Summer Elliott savours 'amazing' title triumph at The Machrie

Summer Elliott in action during The Race to The Machrie on Islay. Picrure: Golfpix/Martin Cairns

The 16-year-old from Inverness heaped praise on Luciane as she savoured the biggest win of her career with a play-off victory in The Race to The Machrie.

Elliot and Royal Troon’s Freya Russell finished locked together on seven-over par after 36 holes in an event that brings players together from the Paul Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher and Barrie Douglas Foundations.

But, in a sudden-death shoot-out at the Islay venue, left-hander Elliott rolled in a 30-foot putt at the first extra hole to secure the title.

Sam Mukherjee and Summer Elliot show off their respective trophies at The Machrie.

“Winning at The Machrie felt amazing,” said Elliott. “After winning the Scottish Golf Performance season opener at the beginning of the year, I had so many ups and downs and I was thirsty for a win.

“Holing a 30-foot putt in the play-off felt great and it’s a big lesson for me as I had told myself aloud before I hit it, ‘this is going in!’.”

Elliott, who was the Nairn junior champion, had produced some great golf when representing Scotland this season.

She picked up two-and-a-half points in the Under-16s Quadrangular, contributed one-and-a-half points in the Home Internationals and helped Junior Tour Scotland beat Spanish opponents at The Renaissance Club recently.

“I have been playing golf since I was eight-years-old,” she said. “I got into it after my parents introduced me to several different sports, including tennis, swimming, athletics, taekwondo, boxing, gymnastics and badminton.

“The one that matched my personality the most was golf, so I stuck with it and I loved it from the start.

“My first golf coach was Gary Lister at Nairn Dunbar. He believed in my potential from day one and still keeps in touch since he moved to Aberdeen.

“I then started with a new coach called Martin Piggot at Fairways Golf Centre in Inverness and I had one lesson with Martin before The Machrie, which really helped me.

“The rest of the time I just work by myself with my mum at my side encouraging me as she knows nothing about golf.

“But she has a psychology degree and was a Brazilian tennis champion and has helped me mostly with my mental state.”