Rising Scottish stars will be out in force at Junior Ryder Cup

WHILE the absence of a Scot from the European team is somewhat puzzling, the Junior Ryder Cup, which gets under way at Gleneagles today, can still provide an ideal opportunity to whet the appetite of potential stars of the future in the home of golf.

More than 1,200 local school children will be attending the biennial event over the two days in Perthshire as those behind Scotland winning the bid to host the 2014 Ryder Cup show the progress being made at grassroots level in the country.

As part of the Scottish Government's commitment to introduce every nine-year-old in Scotland to golf by 2014, the clubgolf initiative is determined to ensure the Ryder Cup's return to Scotland after a 41-year gap leaves a lasting legacy.

Today and tomorrow at Gleneagles clubgolf will be running a festival showcasing their fun introduction to golf, with 600 children taking part each day. It will be the first time the Junior Ryder Cup has welcomed such large crowds.

"The Junior Ryder Cup will create two fabulous opportunities for children and coaches involved in the clubgolf programme," said clubgolf Project Manager Torquil McInroy. "We've invited children from all over Scotland to watch some of the world's best junior golfers in action. The players on show will be just a couple of years older than those spectating, and they will be an inspiration to many of our youngsters.

"The festivals for local school children will add colour to the event, and will be a great celebration of clubgolf's work as we enter the countdown to the 2014 Ryder Cup.

"I am certain that clubgolf's army of volunteer coaches and PGA pros will gain a great deal from this Sunday's seminar which will challenge them to develop their skills and give them the chance to learn from experts in other sports."

The festival follows on from a pre-event coaching seminar at Gleneagles yesterday, when Scotland rugby coach Andy Robinson delivered a presentation on sports coaching. More than 150 coaches and delegates from organisations involved in golf development were present and the theme for the day was 'the need to have the right coach in the right place at the right time to achieve success in sport'.

Europe suffered a heavy 22-2 defeat to the US the last time the sides met in Kentucky in 2008 but are unbeaten in the two previous matches played on home soil.

English youngster Chris Lloyd, who came through stage one of the European Tour's qualifying school last week, leads a 12-strong mixed team that also features Kelly Tidy, who beat Nairn's Kelsey MacDonald to the British Women's Amateur title this season.Foursomes, fourballs and singles will be played over the next two days in a contest that has featured the likes of Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan and Rory McIlroy down the years.

Carly Booth, who was at Gleneagles yesterday to offer advice and support to the European team, played in the event two years ago and is now on the LET Tour.

"Last time we lost badly over in America so the team will want to make up for that result this year," said Booth. "It was the singles matches that really killed us. The team's looking good this year so hopefully it will be a lot different this time."

Tidy, who also played in Kentucky, added: "It should be a really good week. I enjoyed playing in the Junior Ryder Cup two years ago but this time it's nice to be playing at home as we'll have better support and hopefully that will help us.

"The age groups have changed slightly for us so it should be more even this time. It's been great staying here at Gleneagles, everyone is really enjoying it so far and the team spirit is very good."

The American team also boasts some experienced players, with Anthony Paolucci and Jordan Spieth two players who took part two years ago.