Silver lining for Sam after 10 hours of agony
Silver Medal winner Sam Locke celebrated with his parents after making the cut at The Open.
Then the Scots teenager proved he’s ready to fly the nest with a one-under-par 70 on moving day.
Locke teed-off on day three Carnoustie as the last Scot standing. Willed on by the galleries, the Stonehaven amateur embarked on a rollercoaster round, cancelling out five birdies with five bogies before joyously birdieing the last.
It was a day to remember for the youngster.
And it was all the sweeter coming after Friday’s agonising 10-hour wait for confirmation he had made the cut. “Yeah, Friday was a long day!” he said. “As soon as I finished on I thought I might miss by one, but as I was watching, it was looking kind of likely.
“You never know what’s going to happen, especially with the finish that we have here at Carnoustie.
“I tried to just chill out – what will be will be. Thankfully I got in.
“I was pretty happy when it was confirmed. It was nice to know that not only would I be playing, but to guarantee the silver medal too, that was good.
“I was on the sofa watching TV when the news came through. My mum and dad were there as well, so that was nice.” The last Silver Medal winner at a Carnoustie Open was Rory Mcilroy way back in 2007.
Now Locke, sat at two-over-par for the tournament, is keen to emulate one of his “idols” by refusing to rest on his laurels. “Although I made the cut and got the Silver Medal, I didn’t want that to be it,” he said.
“I want to try and get as far up that leaderboard as I can.
“I don’t want it to be just: ‘Oh, that’s it. I’ve got it now’.
“The tournament still had two rounds to go and, only nine shots back, I felt like I could push up a bit.
“You’re trying to finish the best you can, obviously.
“I guess winning the Silver Medal took the pressure off a little bit, but I still wanted to do really well, so it didn’t make a massive difference for me.”
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