Aussies win warm-up for Amateur

AUSTRALIA claimed a narrow victory over Scotland in a Tri-am International match at Castle Stuart Golf Links.

The Scots were in control after the opening day of the friendly fixture against two Aussie teams and South Africa.

In the wonderful sunshine, the Scots six sparkled to hold a 12-shot lead over South Africa going into the second and final day.

But the No. 1 team from Down Under stormed back yesterday to record a 340 total (five scores from six), helped by top-ranked Lucas Herbert, who fired a 65 which featured a hole-in-one at the 17th.

With Scotland scoring 356, aided by Daniel Young (Craigie Hill) and Robert Macintyre (Glencruitten) again achieving sub-70 scores, the teams were tied on 14 under par.

But it was Australia who collected the silverware thanks to their better combined score on the second day.

The event formed the final preparation for players in all the teams for next week’s Amateur Championship, with the first of two qualifying rounds taking place on Monday at Carnoustie and Panmure. The match-play stage starts on Wednesday at Carnoustie.