Craigmillar Park Open and Crail's Battle Trophy both cancelled due to recent bad weather

Decision taken more than a week before 72-holer was due to take place at Capital course

Glenbervie's Graeme Robertson, right, is presented with the trophy by club captain at the time, George Hunter, after his win in the 2016 Craigmillar Park Open.

Scotland’s top amateur golfers have been handed a double early-season blow following the cancellation of both the Craigmillar Park Open and Battle Trophy at Crail due to the recent bad weather.

The Craigmillar Park Open, won by Nick Faldo in his amateur days and now the traditional curtain-raiser for the Scottish domestic season, has been cancelled for the first time in its history due to course conditions.

The decision was taken more than a week in advance of the 2024 edition due to be played after the Edinburgh venue has been hammered by rain recently along with almost every other course in the country.

“Unfortunately, we took the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Craigmillar Park Open on Tuesday,” said club captain Jeremy Murphy. “At the time, the course was already saturated and we were looking at forecasts of further heavy rain.

“We felt there was little or no prospect of being able to get the course prepared to a playable state and we wanted to give players as much notice as possible if we did cancel. I think most non-links clubs in the Lothians are suffering at the

moment.”

First held in 1961, the list of past winners read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Scottish golf, with the likes of Ronnie Shade and Charlie Green being among the early victors before being joined by Marc Warren and Scott Jamieson.

Faldo landed his title triumph in 1976, signing off his amateur career on a high before turning professional the next day and going to win five majors.

“As far as I know and other than the two Covid years, the event has never been cancelled before or not held since it was first held,” added Murphy.

The Battle Trophy, won by both DP World Tour duo Grant Forrest and Connor Syme in their amateur days, was due to be held the weekend after the Craigmillar Park Open but an early call has also been made to call it off on this occasion.

In a message to players, Crail Golfing Society said: “Following consultation, our management team and course manager have taken the early decision to cancel the Battle Trophy due to the continued heavy rain impacting the course conditions of Craighead Links.

“The ongoing rain this week and that due over the weekend will result in Craighead being closed for six consecutive days in April. The moderate rain forecast over the next two weeks on top of what has already fallen on the course makes it uncertain, despite our links location, that the course will be in a suitably playable condition for the elite 72-hole event. We hope players will support the difficult decision.”