TALENTED young golfers have teed off on the links of Irvine Golf Club in the Scottish Boys Championship.

The stunning links, also known locally as Bogside, is hosting one of junior golf's flagship events until Friday, April 12.

Youngsters from Austria, Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, Wales and Zimbabwe are joining home nation hopefuls in competing for the title.

Played across three days, 144 competitors are doing battle today (Wednesday) over the first 18 holes, with the second 18 to follow on Thursday.

The field will then be cut to the 40 players, plus ties, who returned the lowest scores over the first two days.

Those players will play a further 36 holes on Friday to decide this year's champion.

It will be a tough test on the Ayrshire coast, where two competitors will find themselves in familiar territory.

Ayrshire’s hopes of a ‘local’ win rest with Royal Troon members Scott Newman and Connor Wills.

The pair, alongside 36 other Scottish competitors, will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of some of the nation's top golfing talents.

Former Ryder Cup star Stephen Gallacher and more recent team Europe member Robert MacIntyre are both former champions.

Gallacher, part of the 2014 victorious Ryder Cup side at Gleneagles, won back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992 with success at Crieff and Monifieth, while in 2013, MacIntyre – now playing on the PGA Tour after his heroics in helping Europe win the 2023 Ryder Cup – emerged triumphant at The Roxburghe.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Ewen Ferguson also got his hands on the silverware as a junior in 2014 at Cruden Bay, and used it as a springboard to future success.

Irvine Times: Former champion Ewen Ferguson.

Toni Ffinch, senior events manager at Scottish Golf, said: “There is a proud tradition of this event providing a great opportunity for some of the game’s up and coming stars to showcase their talents.

“The list of winners over the years bears testimony to that and the beauty of this event is that offers the very best players from Scotland the chance to compete on home soil against their peers from around the world.

“The Irvine Golf Club is a fantastic venue and we’re extremely grateful to the club and its members for welcoming us again after they successfully hosted the Scottish Girls’ Open here in 2022.

“If you’re in the area and want to witness golf’s next generation then I’d encourage you to come along and be inspired by the standard of play.”

Further tournament information can be found on the Scottish Golf website.