Grace Crawford delighted to 'get job done' in Stephen Gallacher event
North Berwick’s Grace Crawford overturned a six-shot deficit heading into the final round to record a sweet victory in the Stephen Gallacher Foundation Vase at Castle Park.
“I’ve been playing in Stephen Gallacher events for many years, so to finally get a win in one of the biggest ones is great,” admitted the 14-year-old of her success in the 54-hole tournament.
Crawford, one of the brightest young stars in the Scottish game, had led after opening 74 before finding herself with a mountain to climb after slumping to an 86 in the second circuit at the East Lothian venue.
But, digging deep from the start in the final round, she signed off with a gutsy 75 to win by two shots from English challenger Libby Bell, with Baylie Pyke two shots further back in third
“I had a good back nine, including birdies at the 10th and 18th, and that helped me a lot,” said Crawford. “It wasn’t ideal being six shots behind going into the final round, but I got the job done and that’s what matters.”
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It’s been a hectic spell for the youngster, who has gained great experience playing in both the Scottish Championship and Women’s Amateur over the past two weeks.
“It’s time for a rest,” she admitted, “but it was nice to go out with a bang as this is definitely one of my biggest wins.”
A closing 71 for a 217 total earned Royal Burgess player Archie Finnie a two-shot victory in the boys’ event for the Stephen Gallacher Foundation Trophy.
Finnie’s flourish in the final round denied Blairgowrie’s Connor Graham in his bid to pull off a hat-trick after landing both the Barrie Douglas Foundation Scottish Juniors Masters and Paul Lawrie’s Junior Jug the previous two weekends.
Graham had to settle for a share of second spot on this occasion with his Blairgowrie clubmate, Cormac Sharpe.
As consolation, Graham won the Bobby Johnston Trophy for the leading under-16 player.
For the first time, the event offered both World Amateur Golf Ranking and European Ranking points, with four-time European Tour winner Gallacher understandly “proud” of that.