How’s your knowledge of Icelandic history? According to a variety of sources – and by sources, I mean a nonchalant Google search – the first permanent Norse settler of that chilly, north Atlantic island was a fellow by the name of Ingolfur Arnarson. We’re not sure if it was Ingolfur by name, terrible golfer by nature given that the terrain he initially inhabited has hardly been a hotbed of this Royal & Ancient game down the years.
The times they continue to change, though. Here at a bright and breezy Monifieth on the opening day of the Scottish Boys’ Open Strokeplay Championship, it was two Icelandic teenagers who acclimatised nicely to the rigours of the links game on their first golfing expedition to the cradle of golf. A two-under 69 by Ingvar Magnusson and a one-under 70 from his compatriot, Daniel Isak Steinarsson had the red, white and blue flag billowing high on the early leaderboard.
It was a terrific effort. “I adapted quite easily,” said the 16-year-old Magnusson after a successful maiden outing on a links course, although the wind-lashed surrounds of his home club in Reykjavik will have stood him in good stead for yesterday’s examination.
Of course, the challenging delights of Monifieth always stoke up memories of the great Tom Watson, who played his first ever links round on Scottish soil here in 1975, the week before he went on to win the Open along the road at Carnoustie. It’s a well-documented tale of a love affair that didn’t quite start on the right foot. "I hit my drive right down the middle of the fairway and lost the ball,” goes the Watson story. “Then, finally, I looked in this little pot bunker maybe 50 yards off line and there it was. Boy, was I mad."
Good auld Tom may have had a head-scratching introduction to links golf but Magnusson, after a “few lost balls” in practice, certainly found a way to negotiate the abundant perils. A 3-iron off the tee on the first, followed by a wedge to three feet, set up a birdie opportunity which he gleefully gobbled up. Steinarsson, meanwhile, illuminated his card with a handy 5-iron straight into the teeth of the wind on the 11th which dribbled to within tap-in distance.
These seem to be exciting times for golf in Iceland, which has more courses per capita than any country in the world with 65 venues for a nation of around 321,000 people. Twenty years ago, keen followers of the amateur game sat up and took notice when Orn Aevar Hjartarson blasted an 11-under 60 over the New Course in the 1997 St Andrews Links Trophy. It’s a story that still resonates in the Icelandic scene but a new wave are making a name for themselves.
Late last year, Olafia Kristinsdoffir became the first Icelander to earn an LPGA Tour card while the exploits of the Icelandic football team at Euro 2016 has had broader spin offs. “There is more Government funding, they saw what happened with the football team and that has lifted everything,” said Icelandic national coach, Jussi Pitkanen, who was born and raised in Finland but spent 30 years in Ireland.
The regular Icelandic season may be shorter than Jimmy Krankie’s semmit – it’s May to August – but numerous outings throughout Europe and beyond helps to sharpen the competitive edge and widen the golfing horizons. “The brevity of the season means it’s important to get our players out of the country to compete if they want to play at the top level,” added Pitkanen.
The Icelandic duo certainly enjoyed their first taste of Scotland on an exacting day where the potential for damage was considerable. There were plenty of scores in the 80s and a few creeping up the 90s. It’s all part of the learning process.
Jamie Stewart, the Old Ranfurly teenager who won the Scottish junior order of merit last season, was reasonably content with a three-over 74. “I got it round and limited the damage but I just didn’t make many chances,” said Stewart, who finished on the same mark as the reigning Scottish boys’ matchplay champion, Eric McIntosh
Up at the road at Montrose, meanwhile, Strathmore’s Kirsty Brodie produced a back-nine surge to get her challenge off to a flying start in the Scottish Open Girls’ Championship. The Perthshire teenager birdied four of her last seven holes in a one-under 72 to share the lead with Germany’s Hannah Karg.
Jillian Farrell, the daughter of Cardross professional Robert, continued the form that saw her win on the domestic Junior Tour last weekend by shooting a 73 to sit in a share of third.
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