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.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article