LET BATTLE COMMENCE FOR THE FAMOUS SHIELD

THE countdown has begun to the competition for one of the most famous trophies in Scottish amateur golf.

The 110th Carnegie Shield will roll out at Royal Dornoch on Sunday and reach a climax next weekend.

The distinctive Shield was presented to the club by Scottish-born entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie in 1901 and stands out among the impressive trophies on display in the clubhouse.

It has been played for every year since, except for the war years and the pandemic.

Last year’s winner, Ewan Cuthbert, will be bidding to retain the trophy but, as ever, a high quality field numbering nearly 300 has been assembled.

The former Inverness Academy pupil and University of the Highlands and Island student became one of the youngest ever winners with his 2023 triumph, at the age of 19.

Chris “Chippie” Mailley, who is a member at Brora and Royal Dornoch, is chasing a remarkable seventh Shield. Playing off +3.3, he is looking to add to a seasonal haul which includes the County Cup, Club Championship and the Sinclair Cup.

Incoming club captain Gary Bethune, who won the Shield in 1989 and 1991, will be competing along with 1995 winner Neil MacDonald (Muckhart) and 2011 champion Paul Dolton.

Neil Hampton, general manager at Royal Dornoch, said: “We regard the Shield as our very own Major.

“I’m delighted to say the popularity of the event continues to grow. It was greatly oversubscribed again, attracting entries from near and far

“We are welcoming a large number of plus handicap golfers, 29 in total, with the lowest being Tantallon’s Duncan Searle off +3.6.

“This should make for some great scoring in the qualifying and exciting games in the matchplay. If we are blessed with fine weather, we might even see some records broken on the Championship Course.”

After two rounds of strokeplay qualifying, the top 32 progress into matchplay head to heads, with the final taking place on Saturday afternoon.

Competitors are also chasing the low handicap Davidson Trophy and the EC Fraser Trophy for the high handicappers.

You can view the draw and follow scoring from Sunday on the following link – 110th Carnegie Shield.