White prepares to follow in his father's footsteps

Golf Correspondent

Tuesday 26 June 2012

James White was only two months old when his dad, Jim, played in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham back in 1988.

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Nick Rodger

Almost a quarter of a century on, the Lundin amateur overcame the first hurdle in his quest to emulate the feat of his father and ensure another White will be at Lytham again in 2012.

The 24-year-old posted a four-under-par 67 in the regional qualifying shoot-out at Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh yesterday to share top spot with his fellow Fifer Peter Latimer and the local amateur James Ross, and secure one of only eight places on offer for next week's final qualifying contest."My dad still talks about the Open and, if I get there, it might shut him up," joked White Jr, who faces a tough task in the 36-hole final qualifier where just 12 Open tee-times will be up for grabs.Glasgow's Paul McKechnie, who missed out on a place in the 2005 Open at St Andrews by a shot in final qualifying, rolled in a birdie putt of eight-feet on the 18th in a 68 to make sure he would progress past the first stage."It's a funny event this because it's all pretty low key but at the same time you think 'hold on a minute, this is a major we're going for'," said the Tartan Tour player. "It's hard to get there but this is a step towards it."McKechnie's late birdie made sure he moved out of the posse on two-under 69 and avoided a play-off for the final three places. That sudden-death showdown featured Kirkhill duo Craig Ross and Paul Shields, Windyhill's Steven Maxwell, Gareth Wright of West Linton and Cawder's former Scottish PGA champion Chris Kelly. In the end it was Shields, Wright and Kelly who lived to fight another day.Regional qualifying may be a world away from the Open itself but simply being a part of the world's oldest major, even at this early stage, is enough to get the juices flowing. Just ask Ian Redford, the former Rangers midfielder and rookie golf pro, who was having his first stab at it. "It was great but I felt really nervous and duffed my first tee shot," said the 52-year-old, who missed out with a 77.Elsewhere, former Scottish boys' champion Paul Doherty topped the standings with a 68 at Coventry while Edinburgh's Paul Ferrier, a semi-finalist in last week's Amateur Championship, had a 68 at Goswick to progress there. Other Scots to progress at Goswick were Iain Colquhoun (67), Mark Kerr and Michael Stewart, the former Walker Cup player, with 69s. Cameron Marr, from Musselburgh, also shot 69 but missed out after a play-off.

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White prepares to follow in his father's footsteps

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