If golf's aches and pains have left Paul Lawrie feeling all of his 45 years, then he must have felt like Methusela when surrounded by the game's next generation of bright young things in the Scottish Boys' Championship at West Kilbride.
"I'm just getting old and every day I wake up with something else," reported the 1999 Open champion, who seems to be creaking like the outhouse door in a stiff breeze and is currently nursing a trapped nerve in his neck which could force him out of the forthcoming China Open. "I went to Houston last week to do some corporate stuff and it turned out to be a bad move . . . it made it worse."
At least there was one Lawrie in fine fettle yesterday. His youngest son Michael, making his third appearance in the national under-18 showpiece, swept into the second round with a 4 and 3 victory over Turnhouse's Craig Doherty on a day featuring the kind of bewildering mix of the four seasons that could spark mass resignations at the Met Office.
Getting home and dry in the opening round and progressing past that first hurdle is always a relief but perhaps more so for a teenager with a famous golfing father. "I do sometimes feel the burden of expectation a wee bit," admitted the 16-year-old Lawrie, who has been sharpening his game at his dad's own golf facility in Aberdeen while honing his putting on the practice green in the back garden of the family home.
"It's in great condition just now," chipped in Paul. "My wife's dad, Bert, looks after it for us. He's the head greenkeeper."
Like the junior Lawrie, Ben Kinsley is another youngster of redoubtable golfing stock. The 18-year-old is a descendant of the renowned Auchterlonie clan, that decorated and celebrated St Andrews family that boasts an Open and a US Open champion on its distinguished roll of honour.
There has not been a winner of the Scottish Boys Championship from the home of golf since Lachlan Carver won an all-St Andrews final in 1960 but Kinsley has made a decent fist of ending that barren run in recent years.
The former Scottish under-16 strokeplay champion reached the semi-finals in both 2011 and 2013 and set himself up for another strong title tilt here on the Ayrshire coast with a 4 and 3 win over Ross Callan, the son of Bathgate's former Tartan Tour campaigner Stuart.
Kinsley had romped into a seven-hole lead through 11 holes but a spirited Callan, whose old man played in the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham, conjured a late flurry with a trio of birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th before succumbing on the 15th green.
"His run of birdies really concentrated my mind as I was thinking to myself 'what's going on here?'" said Kinsley, who wintered well with the Scottish Golf Union's squad in Dubai and South Africa and has clearly benefitted from that warm-weather tune-up. "I made my debut in the Boys' Championship here at West Kilbride four years ago and, having got to the semis twice, it would be nice to finally make that next step."
Inverness brothers Cameron and Rory Franssen both took the next step into round two with a pair of 6 and 5 victories in their respective ties while George Burns and Fraser Davren, who helped Glasgow win the Scottish Boys' Area Team Championship crown last season, will be looking to claim the Williamwood bragging rights when the club-mates go head-to-head in the second round this afternoon.
Burns beat Erskine's Matthew Sutherland 5 and 4 while his Scotland under-18 team-mate Davren eased to a 4 and 3 win over Gavin Petrie from Forfar.
"We both joined Williamwood in 2006 and have played a lot of junior golf together," said Burns. "We've played each four times in matchplay and it's currently 2-2."
Forget the Masters. Burns and Davren is clearly the big one.
RESULTS
Round 1
A Fortune (The Roxburghe) bt S Murray (Falkirk) 1 up
C Jerome (Kilspindie) bt J Hutton (Murcar Links) 3&1
D Samson (Lochmaben) bt P Delaney (Balmore) 2&1
C Harkness (Dumfries & Gal) bt C Brooke (Prestwick St Nich'as) 3&2
E McIntosh (Murrayfield) bt L Lawson (Turnhouse) 3&2
J Magee (Stranraer) bt A McKenzie (Dunbar) 1 up
C Jones (Greenock) bt F Milne (Banchory) 4&3
D McNeill (Powfoot) bt D Logan (Bishopbriggs) 7&6
P Whelan (Bathgate) bt J Purdie (Largs) 2&1
L Anderson (Deeside) bt D McCann (Kingsknowe) at 20th
F McKenna (Royal Aberdeen) bt R Johnston (Dumfries & Co) 2&1
S McLeod (Kinross) bt Z Bedford (New Club St Andrews) 2 up
C Toal (Old Course Ranfurly) bt C McKay (Loudoun) 3&1
L Allan (Cruden Bay) bt S Hopes (Turriff) 1 hole
R Whyte (Dumfries & Galloway) bt E Diston (Kirkcaldy) 5&4
R Watson (Muckhart) bt C Burns (Balmore) 5&4
G Fitzsimmons (Windyhill) bt M McCulloch (Portpatrick D'skey) 1 hole
C Kirkwood (Bearsden) bt E MacPherson (F'rose & R'markie) 2&1
M Watt (Turnhouse) bt A Thomson (Lanark) 3&2
B Kinsley (St Andrews) bt R Callan (Bathgate) 4&3
M Lawrie (Deeside) bt C Docherty (Turnhouse) 4&3
C Blair (Musselburgh) bt D Smith (Deeside) 7&5
S Irving (Falkirk) bt C MacKenzie (Cardross) at 20th
K Cantley (Liberton) bt C Somers (Murcar Links) at 21st
G Burns (Williamwood) bt M Sutherland (Erskine) 5&4
F Davren (Williamwood) bt G Petrie (Forfar) 4&3
J Stewart (Old Course Ranfurly) bt J Yarnell (Glenbervie) 3&2
J Valentine (Musselburgh) bt C Richmond (Cowal) 5&4
M Dalrymple (Lochwinnoch) bt S Knox (Duddingston) 2 up
R Franssen (Inverness) bt K Reid (Balmore) 6&5
C Franssen (Inverness) bt E Davidson (Charleton) 6&5
G Hannah (Sanquhar) bt M Curley (Cardross) 4&3
J McKenna (Balmore) bt L Bain (Musselburgh) at 20th
S Boyd (Hayston) bt C Phillips (Dullatur) 4&2
J Currie (Greenock) bt J McVey (Turnhouse) at 19th
D Lamont (Bruntsfield Links GS) bt L Rodgers (Greenock) 4&3
J Rogan (Longniddry) bt D Addison (Cruden Bay) 2&1
A Husenne (Haggs Castle) bt B McNaught (Longniddry) 2&1
A Benson (West Lothian) bt S Burns (Pitlochry) 6&4
J Murton (Felixstowe Ferry) bt R Carey (Auchterarder) 3&2
R Thompson (Dukes) bt F Hughes (Newton Stewart) 2&1
C Cochrane (Marriott Dalmahoy) bt F Johnston (Paisley) 4&2
R Higgins (Loretto School) bt J Paterson (New St Andrews) 5&4
T McGinnigle (Haggs Castle) bt C Taylor (Lockerbie) 2&1
G MacIntosh (Mannings Heath) bt S Cook (Kilm'ock Barassie) 3&1
R Thomson (Palacerigg) bt G Stewart (Pitlochry) 6&5
H Mills (Cardross) bt M Reid (Newbattle) 4&3
J Sinnamon (Greenock Whinhill) bt M Rickard (Cupar) 2&1
S Scott (Nairn) bt J Bryce (Bathgate) 4&2
R MacIntyre (Glencruitten) bt M Hughes (Hilton Park) 4&3
C Black (Cardross) bt D Henderson (Musselburgh) 1 up
I Hill (Muckhart) bt R Henderson (Turnhouse) 3&2
S Goodfellow (Hayston) bt K Brown (Stonehaven) 2&1
S Roger (Cruden Bay) bt J Wilson (Balmore) 2&1
Round 2
J Rogers (Rockliffe Hall) bt A Simpson (Strathmore) 1 up
R Paterson (Kilspindie) bt M Watt (Inverallochy) 2&1
E Ferguson (Bearsden) bt R Robertson (Old Course Ranfurly) 4&3
F Soutar (Montrose Mercantile) bt J Fraser (Ayr Belleisle) 5&4
C Good (Musselburgh) bt C Hamill (Bishopbriggs) 5&4
S McCandless (Bathgate ) bt C Farrell (Longniddry ) 1 up
H Boyle (Beadlow Manor) bt C Morrison (Inverurie) at 20th
C Curran (Harburn) bt T Foster (Merchants of Edinburgh) 6&4
C Cheyne (Newmachar) bt M Ronald (East Kilbride) 5&3
E Gill (Inverness) bt R White (Muckhart) 2&1
R Brown (Dunfermline) bt A Sinclair (Bearsden) 5&4
A Fotheringham (Duddingston) bt M McAnaw (New St Andrews)
at 19th
R Lumsden (Royal Wimbledon) bt J Thomas (Irvine) 4&2
C Bruce (Duff House Royal) bt A Thurlow (Murrayfield) 2 up
S Lavelle (Dumbarton) bt A McColl (Erskine) 2 up
N McMullen (Lundin) bt L Murdoch (Loudoun) 6&4
M Naysmith (Marriott Dalmahoy) bt J Gillies (Hilton Park) at 21st
C Bauchop (Glenbervie) bt R Gordon (Alford) 2&1
J Sweeney (Ayr Belleisle) bt F Asher (Nairn) at 19th
I Ferguson (Drumpellier) w/o L Breslin (Fereneze)
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