Senior Scottish Open 2026

Senior Scottish Open 2026 – Event Round‑Up

What a weekend!

The 8th Senior Scottish Open – and our first year as an official STB Ranking Event, took place at LA Bowl Ayr last weekend, and it was fantastic from start to finish!

A big thank‑you to Julia and her team for looking after everyone, and for hosting our Saturday night social including the lovely buffet. Thanks also to Roy for putting together the quiz and being quizmaster and bingo caller – it was a great evening with winners getting fun prizes.

Players & Highlights

We welcomed 40 men and 22 ladies, along with 48 men’s re‑entries, 28 ladies’ re‑entries, and 31 turbos. Bowlers travelled from seven counties to take part.

Across 932 games played, we saw some great scoring:

• 209 games between 200–249
• 9 games of 250+
• And a near‑perfect 290 from Steven Flynn – the closest to a 300 this year.

Top Qualifying Performances

Squad 1: Andy Gillespie 1367, Carole Orange 1126

Squad 2: Colin Grose 1334, Sandra Simmonds 1243

Squad 3: Peter Sampson 1326, Gaye McCully 1269

Squad 4: Steven Flynn 1342, Sally Wilson 1152

Squad 5: Rob Birnie 1242, Anna Yang 1097

 Squad 6: Steven Flynn 1448, Helen Caton 1222

In the men’s Round 2 – Colin Grose impressed with a superb 778 series.

Match Play Drama

The top four men from qualifying went straight through to the quarter finals, while places 5–14, plus the top early‑bird qualifier and highest turbo winner, bowled an extra three games for the remaining spots.

The knockout rounds were packed with excitement:

• 6 out of 8 quarter‑final matches went to three games.
• The men’s semi‑final between Steven Flynn and Rob Birnie ended level at 270 (after age bonus), forcing a tie‑break which Rob won.
• The men’s final also went the distance, with Rob Birnie taking the title.
• The ladies’ final was wrapped up in two games, with Sandra Simmonds claiming the win.

This year’s victories mean:

• Rob Birnie has now won the men’s title three times (2022, 2025, 2026).
• Sandra Simmonds secures her second ladies’ title (2023, 2026).

Fundraising & Thanks

A huge thank‑you to everyone who supported our fundraising efforts. Between the raffle, bonus ball draw and the contribution from the Saturday social, we raised a fantastic £940 for the Senior Team Fund.

• Bonus Ball Winners:
  • Mike McCarthy – bowling ball
  • Steve Bose – triple bag
• Bowling Vision for sponsoring two bowling balls for our champions.
• LA Bowl for supplying prizes at a discounted rate.
• And of course, every bowler, supporter and volunteer who helps make this tournament such a success.

A big shout‑out to Andrew and Moira, between us we make a great team running the event, and to Calvin, who covered live streaming on Saturday and Sunday giving supporters at home the chance to follow the action.

Looking Ahead

Next year’s Senior Scottish Open is already booked for 22–24 October 2027, with pre‑bookings taken over the weekend. We may add Thursday squads depending on demand.

The full results can be found here.