Winning start for Scots in historic mixed Home Internationals

Blairgowrie 14-year-old Connor Graham won both his matches for Scotland at Woodhall Spa. Picture: Scottish Golf

The R&A event marks the first time that girls and boys have played in the same teams in the four-cornered contest, with senior women and men doing likewise.

Up against Wales in both matches, the girls and boys recorded a thumping 14.5-6.5 victory while the seniors triumphed 7-5.

The only disappointment for the Scots came in the women’s event as a strong side on paper went down 5.5-3.5 to Ireland.

Maintaining the form that helped him reach the semi-finals in last week’s Scottish Amateur,

Blairgowrie 14-year-old Connor Graham won both his matches in the junior event.

Other double winners for the Scots in that contest included Nairn’s Calum Scott and Grace Crawford of North Berwick.

England hammered Ireland 18.5-2.5 in the other match on a day when the host nation recorded victories in all the events.

The Scottish seniors led 2-1 after the morning foursomes before singles success from Gillian Kyle, Karen Marshall, Paul Moultrie and Derek Paton clinched victory.

After sharing their foursomes, Women’s Amateur champion Louise Duncan gave the Scots the perfect start in the singles with a 2&1 win over Anna Foster in the top clash.

But the only other point in the afternoon session came from Hannah Darling as she beat Aine Donegan by the same margin in the anchor match.

England, the defending champions after landing the title at Downfield in 2019, hammered Wales 8-1 in the other match.

A message from the Editor:

Get a year of unlimited access to all of The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis, exclusive interviews, live blogs, and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions