Nairn teenager speaks of her pride winning major golf title for first time
NAIRN teenager Kaci Robertson is proving to be one of the top young golfing talents in the country as she claimed victory in a major competition.
The 17-year-old came out on top to win the Paul Lawrie Junior Quaich at Blairgowrie Golf Club in one of the biggest victories of her career so far.
The Nairn Dunbar Golf Club member rounded off an impressive 2024 with victory against some of the top young players in the country last weekend.
It has been a year where Robertson has also been called up to the Scotland squad as she looks to drive her golfing career even further in 2025.
In a tough contest at Blairgowrie last weekend, Robertson finished joint top of the leaderboard with Lara Douglas after rounds of 79 and 75 to finish on 154.
In the play-offs, it was Robertson who held her nerve better as she secured victory on the second play-off hole to take the title.
The quaich was presented to her by former Open winner Paul Lawrie at the winner’s ceremony.
Robertson made her debut at the tournament and was delighted that her second round performance helped her to victory overall.
She said: “It was the first time that I have played at the tournament so I was delighted that I was able to win it.
“I didn’t play well in the first round but I did play really well in the second round. I won on the second hole of the play-off. It was nervewracking, but I was playing against one of my friends so it made it better.
“I rank the win very high in my career where in competition, I do find myself high up on the leaderboards.
“Since this was the last competition of the season, it was nice to get the victory and hopefully my success can continue.”
Robertson was inspired by her family to take up golf and started playing when she was eight before first taking part in competitions two years later.
She won her very first competition when she was 10 and has gone to achieve success in a number of competitions throughout the years.
“I always wanted to play golf and started when I was eight when I went down for lessons at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club . My Grandfather and father played golf and when I saw them play I just wanted to try it for myself.
“I have won a good number of competitions and I also play on the Junior Tour Scotland Championship.
Robertson has also been called up to the Scottish Golf Girls Squad for the 2024-25 season and has played in Europe.
She is looking forward to getting the opportunity to represent her country in the future.
“I was called up to the Scotland squad this year after I was top qualifier for the Scottish Girls Amateur Championship in Forfar.
“The selectors saw that I had got better and that I could play for Scotland.
“This year I went over to Croatia with Scottish Golf and played in the Croatian Open where I finished in sixth place.
“It was an amazing experience and hopefully I will get picked for Scotland teams to compete in more competitions abroad.”
The former Nairn Academy pupil is taking a gap year as she wants to fully concentrate on golf and improve her game.
She has aspirations of turning professional in the future and hopes golf will become a big part of her life.
She said “I have always wanted to become a professional golfer and it is something that I will consider looking to do in the future.
“But I do want to get involved in golf as a career so I can keep playing in the future
“For now, I am playing golf as much as I can and see where it takes me.”
Robertson is looking for sponsorship opportunities and can be contacted through Nairn Dunbar Golf Club.
