Danny is gutted to miss Scottish Open
Young takes confidence from qualifying show
“Gutted” was the word used by Perth golfer Danny Young after missing out on this week’s prestigious Scottish Open.
The Craigie Hill member was wellplaced in the qualifier at Longniddry and was on course to book his ticket for Gullane.
His opening two-under 66 made for an exciting second round with the prize of teeing-up on the European Tour in touching distance.
Danny (26) was still in contention with seven holes remaining but a bogey at the 12th put a dent in his hopes of finishing in the top four.
It was a case of what could have been after eventually slipping down the leaderboard in the closing stages.
“I was right up there and one back,” said Danny. “I was in the last game out on the Sunday.
“I played really good the first 11 holes of the last round and was two-under in total, so was right in amongst it.
“I’d missed a few chances but I’ve been putting quite nicely. I had three putts and really needed one of them to drop.
“I caught a flyer on the 12th from the semi-rough and went over the green to make bogey.
“Then I hit a really poor tee-shot down 14 and made double. That killed my chances and I was a bit deflated.
“I was playing the last four holes knowing that I pretty much had no chance. As soon as I didn’t birdie 15, that was it.
“That last few holes, I was pretty gutted and limped home with a few loose shots. I was just wanting to get in the clubhouse at that point.
“A couple of putts here or there and it’s a different story. I was pretty gutted to be honest because I felt I had a good Danny is taking the positives from his Scottish Open qualifying performance chance.”
Coming so close has filled Danny with a determination to one day compete at the Scottish Open.
“It would have been great to play,” he told the PA. “Conor O’Neil, who qualified, nailed it right on the head by saying it’s pretty much a fifth major for the Scottish guys.
“I would agree with that. You want to play in the majors but if you were picking another event, it would definitely be the Scottish Open.
“It would’ve been a special week but you need to learn from it.
“The qualifier is every year so you need to keep knocking on the door and giving yourself a chance.”
Danny, who was on the Alps Tour last year, has been plying his trade on the EuroPro Tour this season and reckons his game is starting to click.
“What’s most pleasing for me in the last two weeks is that my putting is coming good,” he said.
“That was what, certainly last year, held me back a little. I did a lot of work over the winter on it but at the start of the season it was a bit stalled.
“I felt like it was going to be the same as last year, hitting it good just not putting great. The last three weeks the putter has turned the corner.
“I’m going to be playing EuroPro for the rest of the year. I think there are five or six in a row before we get a week off.
“It’s good to get a run going and if you find a bit of form you can keep it rolling.
“The standard is similar to the Alps Tour but the standard of professional golf is very good regardless of where you are playing.
“The standard gets better all of the time so you need to be improving to be competing with guys that are winning.
“There’s so many guys fighting for not that many spots.”
Danny is playing in the Clipper Logistics Championship in Leeds this week.