'Kingsbarns Crown' worn by another Scot to win on HotelPlanner Tour
‘Team KB’ member Rory Franssen joins Daniel Young in tasting success on DP World Tour feeder circuit
The ‘Kingsbarns Crown’ has been worn by another HotelPlanner Tour winner as a support programme launched more than a decade ago continues to prove productive for Scottish golfers.
Rory Franssen was wearing the Fife club’s distinctive crown logo on both his hat and shirt as the St Andrews-based player landed his maiden victory on the circuit with a three-shot success in the Infortar Estonian Challenge on Sunday.
It followed Daniel Young doing likewise when he triumphed in the Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A just under a year ago before he went on to secure a step up to the DP World Tour this season.
Lorna McClymont has also been sporting the ‘Kingsbarns Crown’ since she turned professional towards the end of 2024, with the support programme having been opened up since it was launched specifically for players who also caddied at one of Scotland’s top venues.
George Murray, who picked up a bag when he wasn’t playing on the DP World Tour, was part of what was called the Kingsbarns Pro Academy team at the time, as was fellow Scottish Amateur champion Kevin McAlpine, who sadly passed away just under three years ago.
Now Sean Wiseman, the caddie master and someone who has “his finger on the pulse” when it comes to all golf matters in St Andrews, identifies talent coming through, hence why both Franssen and McClymont are now part of ‘Team KB’ along with Young.
“The criteria to be part of the Pro Academy Team, as we called it then, was that you had to have caddied for at least two years at Kingsbarns,” Alan Hogg, the chief executive, told The Scotsman. “We weren’t just going to be throwing money at guys who just pitched up, did a couple of loops and wanted to turn professional. So that;s where it started,
“We had a group of guys - it was all male at that time - that included George Murray, Jake Hogg, Jordan McColl, Scott Stewart-Cation, Kevin McAlpine, Danny Young. We created this Kingsbarns Pro Academy team and the idea was we gave them financial support and we gave them material support - balls, gloves, clubs etc - if they needed anything.
“We used all our contacts to make all that work and got different sponsors on board etc and just basically gave these guys a wee network of support. Obviously they could practise at Kingsbarns, they could play at Kingsbarns and we try to find additional sponsors.
“The money we were giving them was relatively small, but it was just the idea of recognising they needed support. For various reasons, boys, including my own son Jake, who was part of it at the start, have all fallen by the wayside. They've tried their best and moved on to other things.
“Danny was sort of the residue of the rest of the original team and he just kept going. We kept giving them money every year and making sure they were playing under the crown at Kingsbarns and wearing the ‘Crown’. It was always the case that, if a player got promoted, they’d get more money than they did starting out and that's exactly what we've done with Danny like over the years and Danny's now getting a pretty substantial chunk from us to wear the ‘Crown’.”
It was a proud moment for everyone connected with Kingsbarns when Young teed up as a qualifier in last year’s 153rd Open at Royal Portrush on the same day the venue owned by American Art Dunkley celebrated its 25th anniversary. That same feeling has been generated once more by Franssen.
“Rory is obviously a big part of our story now, so let’s buckle up and see where it is going to take him,” said Hogg. “From our side, my boss doesn’t bang the drum about this. He's not looking for glory or whatever. It's just something that we do under the radar.”
Something that deserves to be recognised, nonetheless, because it is helping make a difference to the players involved in ‘Team KB’.
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