Teenager Connor Wilson wins Lothians Championship

Castle Park player pulls off double in LGA flagship event at Prestonfield

Castle Park's Connor Wilson shows what winning the Evening News Trophy means to him after his title triumph at Prestonfield

Castle Park's Connor Wilson is the new Lothians champion after becoming just the third player to claim the title as the leading qualifier.

The 19-year-old joined Stuart Middleton (1990) and Lee Morgan (2016) in the elite club to do the double with a polished performance at Prestonfield.

He dug deep to beat Scott Candless by two holes in the semi-finals after the Bathgate man had fought back on the back nine to square matters with five holes to play.

That set up a title decider with West Lothian's Andrew Benson, who beat Stuart Thurlow from Murrayfield by 4&3 in the other last-four clash, and Wilson finished off the job in style with a 3&2 success.

"It is great," he said of adding this title to a 2018 victory in the Scottish Boys' Championship. "It is always good to win but especially this year when there's not been much to play in.

"It's a pretty special win and it's pretty cool to get my name on a trophy that includes the likes of Bernard Gallacher."

Wilson's win is Castle Park's first in a Lothians event while it was also met with delight by the Stephen Gallacher Foundation as one of its ambassadors.

"My strength in the match-play phase was definitely my short game," he added. "I holed some crucial putts, both long ones for birdies and some crucial short ones.

"My pitching was also very solid, which meant I was able to get myself out of some tricky positions."

The only disappointment for Wilson, who started the knock-out phase by beating Newbattle's Elliot Innes 2&1 on Friday, is that his 2020 season is now over.

"That's it, unfortuately," he said. "I don't have anything else competition-wise until next year. But what a great way to finish this season off."

RESULTS

Quarter-finals

Connor Wilson (Castle Park) bt Elliot Innes (Newbattle) 2&1

Scott McCandless (Bathgate) bt Keith Reilly (Silverknowes) at 19th

Andrew Benson (West Lothian) bt Ricky Moffat (Turnhouse) 3&2

Benn McLeod (Musselburgh) lost to Stuart Thurlow (Murrayfield) 5&4

Semi-finals

Wilson bt McCandless two holes

Benson bt Thurlow 4&3

Final

Wilson bt Benson 3&2

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy YatesEditorial Director