Seagull flies off with ball during prestigious golf final at Royal Dornoch

A referee's ruling was required after a seagull picked up a player's ball during the Carnegie Shield final at Royal Dornoch Golf Club.

Aug 21, 2026 - 16:01

Seagull flies off with ball during prestigious golf final at Royal Dornoch

A seagull interrupts the Carnegie Shield final at Royal Dornoch. Image: Matthew Harris on behalf of Royal Dornoch.

The 1,000-mile round-trip from Northampton to the Scottish Highlands proved worth it for 20-year-old Jack Peters as the Englishman claimed one of the most prestigious trophies in amateur golf – and despite the final being interrupted by a seagull.

The US college student with aspirations to join the professional ranks rounded off a memorable week at Royal Dornoch with a 4&2 Carnegie Shield final win over Prestwick’s Cameron McGarvie.

And even the bizarre sight of a seagull swooping to make off with his opponents’ ball couldn’t stop Jack closing out the match on the 16th green.

Jack, who is preparing for the third year of a Business Management degree and a golf scholarship at Kaiser University, based at West Palm Beach in Florida, built a three-hole lead over Cameron at the turn and maintained his grip on the final.

“Cameron’s ball hadn’t quite stopped when this seagull flew off with it on the 16th,” said the +4 handicap member at Northamptonshire County and Woburn.

“I’ve never seen anything like it on a golf course.

“About 10 seconds later it dropped the ball near the green and Cameron, the referee and I worked out where it would most likely have ended up.

“It was quite funny and luckily it didn’t have any effect on the result.”

Former Bedford School pupil Jack added: “My goal at the start of the week was to come away with the trophy so it has been the perfect way to end the summer. It was a bonus to get back my World Amateur Golf Ranking with the win.

Jack Peters won the Carnegie Shield at Royal Dornoch Golf Club where the final was interrupted by a swooping seagull picking up his rival’s ball. Image: Matthew Harris on behalf of Royal Dornoch.

“I learned more about the history of the Shield as the week progressed and just how prestigious this event is.

“The trophy is amazing and it is certainly very heavy – it wouldn’t have fitted into the car if I’d been allowed to take it home.”

*The Davidson Trophy was won by Fortrose and Rosemarkie’s Neil Edwards with a 5&4 victory over Phillip Compeau, from Longue Vue in the USA and fellow American Sims Macdonald of the Idaho Club took the E.C Fraser Trophy with a 20th hole win over Royal Dornoch’s Daniel Cormack.

[Source: Press and Journal]