Scots face hard task

Golf Correspondent

Sunday 17 June 2012

Could it be third time lucky for a Scot in the Amateur Championship this week?

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Nick Rodger

Last season at Hillside in Southport, Michael Stewart was beaten to the unpaid game's most decorated prize by Australia's Bryden Macpherson. The year before, James Byrne saw his ambitions thwarted by a putting masterclass from Korea's Jin Jeong in the 36-hole final at Muirfield.

What are the chances then of one of the home posse ending the losing sequence at Royal Troon and Gailes this season and becoming the first Scotsman to win the title since Stuart Wilson in 2004? Judging by the recent performances of Scotland's elite squad on the amateur scene there is not great cause for optimism. Graeme Robertson finished third in the St Andrews Links Trophy last weekend, while Scott Crichton was fourth in the Welsh Strokeplay to buck the trend but, in general, the results by the SGU's leading lights in the major events such as the Lytham Trophy, the Irish Open and the Scottish Open Strokeplay, have been modest. The Amateur Championship is a different animal, though, and as many players will testify "anything can happen in matchplay". But first the players have to negotiate their way through two rounds of strokeplay qualifying and earn one of the 64 knock-out places on offer.With an international field of 288 players from 32 countries contesting the 36-hole phase, the competition will be fierce. The intensity of the rivalry is heightened by the rewards on offer to the eventual winner. Claim this most sought after crown and you can pencil in tee-times to July's Open as well as next year's Masters and US Open. It is quite an incentive.In this world class line-up, particular attention will be given to Holland's Daan Huizing, whose 11-stroke victory in May's Lytham Trophy was followed by an extraordinary 14-stroke triumph in the St Andrews Links Trophy. His recent demolition jobs may have been in the strokeplay format, but the Utrecht University student has plenty of pedigree in man-to-man combat too. He romped to victory in last year's Argentinian Amateur Championship final by a 9&7 margin.Austria's Manuel Trappel, the current European champion, and Frenchman Paul Barjon, a winner in Ayrshire a fortnight ago at the Scottish Strokeplay, bolster the continental contingent, while world No 6 Corbin Mills, who played in April's Masters as a result of winning the 2011 US Public Links Championship, will spearhead the American assault.In addition to Robertson and Crichton, the Scottish presence in the draw includes solid matchplay competitors such as Brian Soutar, the winner of the South African Open this year, former Scottish Boys' champion James White and Kirkhill youngster Paul Shields.

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Scots face hard task

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