Sam Westwood among East Lothian group of young golfers heading to Pinehurst

The players and officials bound for Pinehurst to compete against North Carolina juniors

The group, which consists of 10 boys and four girls, is bound for Pinehurst, where they are set to compete against the best junior golfers in North Carolina during an 11-day trip.

Joining Westwood are Ruaridh Mackenzie, Sam Hall, Malachy Hayward, David Halliday, Greg Cookson, Murray Cooper, Joseph Cookson, Euan Canavan and Finlay Mackenzie, as well as Mollaidh Nicholson, Carys Irvine, Lucy Hall and Lucy Morrison.

They will be competing in “The Winternationals”, which are individual scratch 36-hole events based on age groups.

The first weekend involves two rounds over the newly-refurbished Pinehurst No 4 and, on the following weekend, the players will tackle Pinehurst No 1 and No 2.

In between, the boys have a match against Pinecrest High School, competing for the Duncan McLean Quaich, a trophy donated in the memory of a Gullane golfer who died in 2016 aged just 20.

As that is taking place, the four girls will receive courtesy at Longleaf Golf Club, while the whole squad will play over two other Donald Ross-designed courses at Mid Pines and Pine Needles.

They have also been invited to play at the Duke University course in Durham and tour the campus.

During the trip, the group will be flying the new East Lothian County Flag and will also be promoting “Scotland’s Golf Coast”.