JOHN Young, who has died aged 68, was a former Scottish boys' and Scottish amateur golf champion. In another era, the long-time member of Cathcart Castle Golf Club on the south side of Glasgow could easily have gone on to become a tournament professional, but Young resisted all persuasion and remained in the amateur ranks.

The family home during his childhood backed on to the first fairway at Cathcart Castle. Young was hardly ever away from the course as a youngster, and his first success at national level was the winning of the Scottish Boys' Championship at North Berwick in 1957 at the age of 17.

Known throughout his career as a gentleman in vic-tory or defeat, he won the Glasgow Strokeplay Championship in 1959 and 1967 and was a frequent winner of 36-hole strokeplay competitions around the west of Scotland.

Young's major golfing achievement, however, was to win the Scottish Amateur Championship at Carnoustie in July 1960 at the age of 20, beating in the final the favourite, Sandy Saddler, an established internationalist, by 5 and 3. In defending his trophy the following year at Western Gailes, he reached the semi-finals.

On the international front, Young played for Scotland on 10 occasions between 1960 and 1965 and represented the Great Britain and Ireland team in the St Andrews Trophy in 1960.

One unique record that Young held along with his friend and worthy opponent on many occasions, Walter Black, was that in 1965 they were the first pair from the same club to play in the same Scottish team.

Young's strength was his iron play and he was often compared in that respect with John Panton. He had more than one opportunity to turn professional, notably from Jack McLean and Panton himself, but always resisted the approaches.

If John had a weakness in his game it was his putting, and latterly he resorted to putting the long ones right-handed and the short ones left-handed.

Young was club champion at Cathcart Castle in four decades and nearly made it five. He was one of the few golfers to play in both the south-side Brand Putter League and the north-side Donald Cameron League. In the early 1960s he left Clarkston to live in Kirkintilloch and joined the local club.

Young was made an honorary life member of Cathcart Castle after his Carnoustie success and later donated to the club all his medals, which are on display in the trophy case in the members' lounge. His early employment was with Thomas Graham & Co Ltd, plumbers. He then joined DCL as a salesman for Old Mull and White Horse whiskies.

He left DCL in his early fifties and worked for a time as a fund-raiser for the Red Cross.

Young, a father of two daughters, was still playing golf regularly at Cathcart Castle up until his last illness last autumn, and he still had a single-figure handicap.

By Stewart McFarlane