Inverness schoolboy qualifies for world golf championship in San Diego for third year running
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Inverness golfer Fraser MacKenzie has qualified for the IMG World Golf Championships for the third year in a row.
The nine-year-old Lochardil Primary School pupil will represent Great Britain and take on the best players in the world in San Diego in July.
Despite being among the youngest in his age group, MacKenzie convincingly won the competition for nine to 10-year-olds at Bourn Golf and Country Club near Cambridge last weekend, scoring 82 over 18 holes.
He was six shots ahead of his nearest rival’s score of 88.
He will compete against 1250 of the world’s best players from 56 countries at next year’s world championships.
Fraser started playing golf with his dad Kenneth when he was only three, with the pair visiting the driving range at Fairways whenever they could. He was soon managing nine holes at Inverness Golf Club and now plays off a handicap of 16.
Fraser’s mum Vicki said: “Fraser lives and breathes golf.
“When other wee boys might be watching cartoons, he’ll be watching live golf, re-runs of the coverage of old competitions, or YouTube videos about technique.
“That’s when he’s not playing or practising, of course! Spanish player Jon Rahm is his ultimate hero.
“Lockdown was a tricky time because most competitions were cancelled, including the 2020 IMG Junior World Championships which he qualified for last year, and the courses were closed too.
“But Fraser was out at the driving range as much as possible, and every day he practiced his putting in the back garden at home.”
Fraser’s dad Kenneth MacKenzie is a keen golfer and member at Inverness Golf Club, who plays off a handicap of six.
Vicki said Fraser’s dad had been a driving force in helping him reach his potential and him managing to qualify for the world championships three years in a row.
She added: “Kenneth has been brilliant, encouraging Fraser’s passion for the sport, spending time with him on the course and driving the length and breadth of the country for the past few years so Fraser could take part in weekly competitions.”
MacKenzie’s reputation as a rising star in junior golf was strengthened on the 2019 British Junior Golf Tour Order of Merit in the seven to eight age group, when he achieved the highest overall score at events listed on the British Junior Golf Tour.
