Practice makes perfect, so those old sages say, and Connor Syme has certainly been putting a decent shift in ahead of his assault on the Amateur Championship title at Carnoustie this week.
The 19-year-old has been a regular visitor to the revered Angus links recently and, having familiarised himself with its abundant nooks and crannies, the current leader of the Scottish Golf Union's order of merit is feeling confident about his chances.
He has good to reason to feel chipper, of course. Syme reached the semi-finals of the Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush a year ago where he lost out to his fellow Scot, Bradley Neil, in the last four. Neil would go on to capture the crown as well as those much sought after invitations to the Open, the Masters and this week's US Open and Syme is eager to follow in those footsteps.
"It's unbelievable what Bradley has since enjoyed, playing in the Open, the Masters and the US Open this week, and I would love some of that," said Syme, who was third in last weekend's St Andrews Links Trophy.
"The opportunities that come with winning the Amateur are obviously amazing. Everyone wants to do well in this one. There are 288 of the best players in the world and the top 64 is the objective. Once you qualify, anything can happen in matchplay.
"I've probably played Carnoustie six times now, which is a massive help for preparation. It's a tough, tough golf course and it's going to be a challenge."
Syme and the rest of the 288-strong field will have to negotiate their way past two rounds of strokeplay over Carnoustie and nearby Panmure before the real cut-and-thrust of the knock-out stages get underway on Wednesday.
As well as a vast legion of Scots and a host of GB&I Walker Cup contenders, the international field also includes five of the world's top 20 amateurs. Sweden's Markus Kinhult, who won last month's Lytham Trophy, is the highest ranked player at No 3 while Australian junior champion Ryan Ruffels, whose parents were both successful professional tennis players, will be one to keep an eye on.
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