Former Scotland international golfer Gordon Yates was delighted to finally get his hands on the Cadzow Cup – after six years of trying.
Yates, 38, who was an international from 2007-11 and was in the Walker Cup squad in 2009,won the trophy by two shots from Ryan MacKenzie.
And the Newarthill golfer said: “It’s a good surprise, it’s something I’ve targeted for a number of years since moving over to Colville Park.
“My father and grandfather used to play at Hamilton so there’s a little bit of a connection there, and it’s always been on my list to try and achieve.
“I’ve been trying to win it for about six years, and I’ve been at Colville Park for eight – prior to that I was over in Hilton Park in Milngavie, which is where I won a lot of amateur accolades.
“I got to the elite of the amateur game, and a lot of the guys that I competed with and played with on several teams are now on tour and doing quite well for themselves.
“Before I was in the world of full-time employment I was chasing the dream to become a professional, which never quite materialised, unfortunately – but you never know what’s in the future.”
For now, Gordon is content chasing Lanarkshire Order of Merit prizes and hopes this year to bag the title for a second time.
He added: “I focus on the Lanarkshire Order of Merit, I try to keep semi-competitive, but the days of playing the amateur 72-hole tournaments are a wee bit gone just now.
“Lanarkshire have nine or 10 events throughout the year which constitute their Order of Merit, and I won that three or four years ago, so I’d quite like to win that again.
“The Bothwell Castle Quaich is coming up this Sunday and the following weekend there are events at Bellshill and Airdrie after that.”
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