The game of golf is littered with tales of 'what-ifs, maybes and might-have-beens' but, to shamelessly plunder another lyric from a Jethro Tull song, there's a constant conveyor belt of 'why-nots, perhaps and wait-and-sees'.

You never know what the future will hold but Bradley Neil, the 19-year-old from Blairgowrie, is hoping that it's a bright one.

The laden sky over Aviemore may have been as grey as a battleship ahead of this week's SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley but Neil was not going to let Mother Nature rain on his professional parade. The former Amateur champion makes his debut in the paid ranks on home turf and is keen to get cracking, whatever the elements up here in the delights of the Highlands.

It's a bit of a change from the major championship stages that Neil has performed on since winning the Amateur Championship a year ago and the Open, the Masters and the US Open are now distant memories. On the slippery, shoogly ladder that is the pro game, Neil is now focusing all his energies on attempting to gain a solid foothold on it.

As well as an invitation to this week's European Challenge Tour contest, Neil's management company, which also looks after the affairs of Justin Rose and Tiger Woods, have secured him starts for the forthcoming French Open and the Scottish Open on the main tour as well as events in Denmark, Hong Kong and possibly the British Masters and the Dunhill Links Championship.

In the shadows of the Cairngorms, Neil is very much in the foothills as far as his new career is concerned and the young Scot is relishing the prospects and the opportunities that lie on the hike ahead.

"I'm starting right at the bottom," said Neil, one of 30 Scot competing in this, the 10th anniversary staging of this valuable developmental championship on Scottish soil. "I've stepped up the age ranks, and gone from playing in the juniors to playing in the men's, so I've made those steps up before but obviously none as big as this. It's a perfect challenge and I can't wait to get going. Beyond that I'm not sure what to expect.

"I don't really feel any added pressure and I'm not acting any differently. It's kind of like the day before your birthday. Nothing feels different. I've been preparing for this all through the last year. I knew that turning pro was going to happen, I just didn't know what day or time."

Neil, it seems, is finally living the dream. "I probably first dreamed of turning pro when I was 13," he added. "I'd just won the Scottish Under 14s and I think that was the first time when I thought it was something I could maybe do. Here I am six years later about to make my debut. Things took a massive turbo boost when I won the Amateur. I got the chance to play in the majors and that was a chance I never expected to get so soon. It's just a bonus to have had that experience as an amateur. Not many get that opportunity so the fact that I was one of the lucky few should hopefully stand me in good stead going forward."

The Challenge Tour is a tough school but it provides a comprehensive all round golfing education. Two years ago, Brooks Koepka romped to victory at Spey Valley and the American is now a PGA Tour champion and 22nd on the world rankings. Another former Scottish Hydro Challenge champion, Jamie McLeary, has not quite scaled those dizzying heights but as something of seasoned veteran of the second-tier circuit, the 34-year-old, fresh from victory in Belgium a fortnight ago, had words of wisdom for rookie recruit Neil.

"It's a steep learning curve," said McLeary, who had a season on the main European Tour last year. "I'm sure he'll be fine but he will notice the strength in depth. If the weather stays calm like this, I could see the cut being four or five-under here."

It's not just tough at the top in golf, it's tough at all levels. Neil will be hoping he can cut it this week.