An injured golfer winning the Scottish Boys' Championship?
Surely that would be just what the doctor ordered. Not quite, in the case of Stuart Easton. "He told me to rest for six weeks . . . and that was three weeks ago," said the 16-year-old from Irvine, who has been nursing strained ligaments in his right hand after taking a tumble while larking about with his pals and only started hitting balls again last weekend.
He may have ignored his doctor's advice, but Easton's game appears to be in rude health here at Monifieth and he surged into the quarter-finals with a 5&4 win over Calum Hill, the No.8 seed from Tantallon.
The Ayrshireman's affliction stood up to the rigorous test posed by the Angus links yesterday, particularly over a robust opening stretch that has been playing into the teeth of a stiff, cold wind for most of the week.
Easton, aiming to become only the second Irvine member to win the boys' title after Alan Tait in 1986, was launching long irons in with all his might at the second, third and fifth and he didn't reach the 456-yard fourth with his approach. "I'm used to this in Ayrshire though," added Easton, who is content in his role as something of an underdog in the last eight. "Maybe I've been underestimated a bit but I'm happy with that."
He will get the chance to really make folk sit up and take notice this morning when he takes on Ewan Scott, the top seed and last year's runner-up. Scott was made to fight all the way in his fifth round joust with Andrew Burgess of Nairn and looked in trouble on the last when, with a one hole lead standing on the 18th tee, he pushed his drive into the trees. Fortunately, his lie was favourable but he still conjured a superbly executed recovery and scampered a low, five-iron some 230 yards on to the green. "It must have ran about 100 yards and that was nice in the situation," said the reigning Scottish Youths' champion.
In the battle of the Bearsden neighbours, Ewen Ferguson emerged triumphant and a tad emotional after seeing off his close friend Cameron Kirkwood on the last green. "We've known each other all our lives and live 30 yards from each other so this was pretty horrible," admitted Ferguson, the runner-up in last season's Scottish Boys' Strokeplay Championship. "I'll never use this win against him."
Like the sparring duo's houses in Tiree Gardens, there was not much to separate them on the course yesterday either. Ferguson, two down through 13, struck the decisive blow on the par-5 18th when he launched a raking six-iron of over 200 yards into 25-feet and two-putted for a birdie.
Ferguson, who plays Glenbervie's Ben Craggs this morning, would relish a crack at both Scott or the No.2 seed Bradley Neil – "I think I could take them both" – and that remains a possibility as Blairgowrie youngster Neil powered into the latter stages with a 5&4 win over Williamwood's Fraser Davren, which teed up a tie with Blair Carnegie of Glenbervie.
Neil has his own views on the championship's concluding rounds. "I think a final between Ewan and myself is the one people would want to see but there's not a bad player left in the last eight and they all should believe they can get to the final and win," he said.
In the remaining quarter-final, Barassie's Euan Walker, who trundled in a 30-footer for a birdie on the 17th en route to a one-hole win over Cowglen's Alan Waugh, will face the former Scottish under-16 champion, Ben Kinsley.
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