There’s a real buzz in the air at Blairgowrie
Club has loved hosting Amateur Championship
The Scottish Amateur Championship reaches a climax at Blairgowrie this weekend.
And the club’s managing secretary Steven Morgan admits there has been a buzz in the air as the country’s best battle over Rosemount and Lansdowne.
Two strokeplay rounds contested on Tuesday and Wednesday shuffled the large starting field down to 64 for matchplay competition.
Saturday will welcome the semi-finals, before the showdown 36-hole final bursts into life in front of a large crowd on Sunday.
“It’s been absolutely fantastic and we had a lot of busy preparations behind the scenes to get the courses ready,” Morgan said.
“We’ve come out of a little dry spell and thankfully had a bit of rain which has taken the sting out of the courses.
“There were a couple of practise days and the guys have commented very favourably on both courses.
“I think what is nice is that they appreciate how both courses compliment each other.
“Rosemount is a little shorter, perhaps a bit more playable, while Lansdowne is longer and tighter.
“The first couple of competition days have been really excellent with great scoring. There was a joint course record of 64 on Rosemount.
“In the morning it was there. We stood as a team behind the first tee and it was calm with blue skies.
“It looked like someone could go out and get a score like that. In the afternoon the weather turned and the wind got up.
“They’ve really enjoyed the courses and have referred to our greens as like carpet, which is nice.
“What I’m really excited about is the matchplay on Blairgowrie managing secretary Steven Morgan has been delighted with players’ feedback
Rosemount. It’s not a bighitters’ course and is more of a strategic course.
“The greens, to a level, protect the golf course especially with them running 10 to 11 on the stimpmeter as they were on Wednesday.”
Getting the nod to host the Scottish Amateur Championship was a special moment for the Perthshire club, Morgan says.
He went on: “Since I’ve started here we have embarked on a brand building exercise.
“This plays right into it – hosting a prestigious event and arguably Scottish Golf ’s top event in the calendar.
“It’s brilliant for the club and showcases two golf courses in great condition.
“It’s a way for us to get the message out to people about the facilities we have and how good they are. We get a lot of requests for events here and the Scottish Amateur Championship is one we have particularly been looking forward to.
“Scottish Golf have been excellent. The planning for these events starts almost a year out.
“All the planning meetings, review of the courses and their expectations have been very clear. It’s been easy for us to create that.
“It’s been really professional and thankfully we’ve had some not too bad weather to top it all off.”
Plenty of Perth and Kinross golfers have been in action Blairgowrie’s Gregor Graham tees-off during strokeplay round two with Alyth’s Michael Brodie qualifying for the matchplay stage of the event.
“Seven Blairgowrie members were entered which was a good turnout from our guys,” Morgan added.
Last 64 and 32 ties were being played yesterday as the PA went to press.