Given that he plays and practises at the Northumberland club inside the grounds of Newcastle racecourse, it was perhaps fitting that Garrick Porteous turned the Carrick Neill Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship into a one-horse affair yesterday at Southerness.

With the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup selectors peering from the sidelines, the 23-year-old took a significant step towards a place in the side for September's match with the USA as he posted closing-day rounds of 72 and 68 for a one-over aggregate of 277 and a four-stroke victory over fellow Englishman Callum Shinkwin and Irish duo Richard O'Donovan and Dermot McElroy.

It may not be long by modern-day standards, but Southerness links, with its defences bolstered by a cold, stiff breeze for most of the weekend, provided yet another formidable test, but Porteous harnessed the robust conditions and passed this particular examination with flying colours.

"It wasn't easy at all," said Porteous, who was runner-up in last month's Welsh Open Strokeplay but has now landed his first major victory. "I was solid from six feet on the greens and that's where it tends to be won and lost. The Walker Cup is the goal and an early win like this certainly helps."

Shinkwin signed off with a 71 while O'Donovan had a 72, but it was McElroy, the former Irish Boys' champion, who posted the best score of the final day with a neatly assembled 67, which was concluded with an eagle on the last as he joined the three-way tie for second

As a maths student, Stirling University's Jack McDonald is a dab hand with numbers and the Barassie youngster's figures added up to an impressive sixth place after a spirited one-under 68 left him on 283.

It's not often talk in a press room turns to mathematical optimisation and, as the assembled scribblers almost swallowed their own brains trying to understand the topic of McDonald's recent exam, the 20-year-old Ayrshireman expressed his relief that he can now focus again on the birdies instead of the books.

"My game had gone back because I was studying for the optimisation exam, but it's out of my head now," said McDonald, the Scottish Golfer of the Year in 2012. "That was as good as I've played this season."

Scott Borrowman, the winner of the Scottish Golf Union's order of merit last year, sneaked in through the back door just as it was about to shut in his face on Saturday night and he made the most of his last-gasp qualification for the final 36 holes with a closing day rally.

The 26-year-old from Dollar had been set for an early exit until he conjured an act of escapology that would have had Houdini looking for new employment when he holed his third shot from 150 yards on the 18th for an eagle to make the cut on the limit.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, a galvanised Borrowman reeled off rounds of 69 and 70 yesterday to barge up into a share of seventh on 287.

"I was a shot away from missing the cut and now I've finished inside the top 10, so it's turned out to be a nice weekend for me," he said.

Not so chipper was Glenbervie's Walker Cup contender, Graeme Robertson. The 24-year-old, who won the Battle Trophy on the domestic circuit in April and was beaten in a play-off for the Irish Open Strokeplay last month, crumbled to an 80 and finished down in the lower reaches with a 25-over tally.