The sigh of despair from John Paterson as he sat in the recording hut reflecting on the eagle putt that didn’t drop on the final green could have whipped up a tsunami in the Tay. Moments later, the 17-year-old was wearing a smile as wide as that particular stretch of water as he won the Scottish Boys’ Open Strokeplay Championship at Monifieth.

In the end, Paterson, who is originally from Killearn but now lives in St Andrews, won by two shots but there was a giddy mix of emotions to endure as he went from thinking of what might have been to celebrating the biggest success of his young career. It was a good Friday after all.

Paterson, a semi-finalist in last year’s Scottish Boys’ Matchplay Championship, closed with a terrific four-under 67 for a one-under 283 and finished a couple clear of Old Ranfurly’s Jamie Stewart but the manner of his win illustrated golf’s wildly fluctuating fortunes.

Stewart, last year’s Scottish junior No 1, had been three ahead of his nearest rivals after the morning’s third round and five clear of Paterson with 18 holes to play but things unravelled in the afternoon.

It was Paterson who signalled his intent as he flung caution to the wind and smacked his tee-shot at the first to within 15-feet before holing the putt for an eagle-two. Things got better for him on the eighth when he dunted in a raking putt of some 60-feet for another eagle-two. Paterson had certainly upped the ante as he barged his way into contention but, having leaked a shot on the 17th after flying the green, his putt of six-feet on the 18th for a third eagle of the round stayed out.

At that point, Paterson thought his chance had gone but behind him, the wheels were beginning to shoogle for Stewart. Having already spilled shots on the 12th and 13th, he plunged his drive on the last into the fairway bunker and eventually stumbled over the line with another bogey in a three-over 74 for a 285. The celebrations could begin for Paterson. The tears could flow for proud mum, Fiona, too.

“I wanted to go out in the final round, post a score and give the leaders something to think about,” said Paterson, who will now have a month off from golf to study for his school exams. “I’ve never had two eagles in a round before but I thought that missed one on the last was going to cost me.”

Paterson, who played in last year’s Dunhill Links Championship in a group including former Masters champion Trevor Immelman, is planning to take a year out to play full-time competition on the amateur front before, hopefully, venturing across the Atlantic on a golf scholarship in the US. With five Highers successfully passed, three more to sit and now one of Scottish junior golf’s most prestigious titles in the bag, Paterson has an impressive cv to show to those American colleges.

Darren Howie, who had been right in the title mix, saw his title ambitions scuppered by a double-bogey on the 12th as he finished third on 286 after a closing 72 while Eric McIntosh, the national under-18 matchplay champion, signed off with a 73 which left him fourth on 287.

While the boys’ event produced a nail-nibbling finale, there was a procession to a coronation in the Scottish Girls’ Open Championship up the road at Montrose as Germany’s Hannah Leonie Karg eased to a 10 shot victory.

The 17-year-old from Hamburg, who led by seven strokes going into the final round after a course record-equalling 66 on day two, put the tin lid on a dominant display with a closing four-under 69 for a 12-under 207. Shannon McWilliam of Aboyne and Hollie Muse of West Lancashire, who shared second place, were so far back they may as well have been playing in the 2016 championship.

“I played in the Scottish Girls’ Open back in 2014 and a few other events in Scotland, so I felt comfortable at Montrose,” said Karg, who certainly found the Angus links to her liking. “I want to go to the LPGA Tour one day, so maybe this is a good start for me to achieving that goal.”

McWilliam, the Aboyne teenager, rallied superbly after a first round 79 and subsequent rounds of 71 and 67 propelled her up the leaderboard.

“It wasn’t the best start in round one, but I felt I could come back,” she said. “It’s my last year at this level and I really wanted to win.”

The rampant Karg didn’t give anybody else a chance of doing that.