The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Former Scottish Boys golf champion Eric McIntosh carded an eight-under-par 64 to lead the field on the opening day of qualifying for the Scottish Amateur Championship at Blairgowrie yesterday.
Teenager leads field on day one of Amateur Championship
Former Scottish Boys champion Eric McIntosh set a blistering pace on the back nine of Blairgowrie’s Rosemount course to lead the field on the first day of qualifying at the Scottish Amateur Championship.
The 19-year-old was the last player to win the Scottish Boys when it was held in April 2016 at Murcar, but in ideal conditions on the famous James Braid/ Alister Mackenzie layout he came home in 30 strokes, seven-under the card, for an eight-under-par 64.
That leaves the student at Northwestern University in Chicago – the college attended by Luke Donald and where former Walker Cup player David Inglis is now head golf coach – with a handsome three-shot advantage.
The main aim, however, is just to get inside the top 64 after rounds on the Rosemount and Lansdowne courses to be in the draw for the start of tomorrow’s matchplay stages.
McIntosh got off the a blazing start with an eagle two on the second and also birdied the sole par five on the front nine, before his only set-back of the day, a double-bogey six at the ninth.
However, he had fours at each of the short par fives to start the return trip, another at the long 14th and added birdies at the 12th, short 15th and at both the final two holes.
A hole-in-one at the 130-yard short 15th at Rosemount sparked Andrew Davidson (Charleton) into a share of second place behind McIntosh.
Davidson, third in the East of Scotland Open at the end of last month, shot a five-under 67 to lie equal with another Fifer, Andrew Thornton.
The Lundin 17-year-old, a member of the Scottish Boys squad at the recent European team Championships, also did his best work on the back nine at Rosemount, coming back in 32 with five birdies.
Top performer of the Scotland men’s team was Irvine’s Stuart Easton with four-under 68 that included a spurt of four birdies in five holes near the turn.
Best Perth and Kinross County player was Robbie Morrison from Royal Perth with a four-under 68 without a blemish on his card.
The Lansdowne course was the tougher of the two in play yesterday with Royal Mussleburgh’s Stuart Blair, Kyle Godsman (Moray) and Alyth’s Michael Brodie all returning three-under 69s, the best score on the longer tree-lined track.
One of the championship favourites, veteran Scotland international Euan McIntosh, was one behind there after two birdies in the final two holes lifted him to a two-under 70.
Other internationals Sandy Scott (Nairn), Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) and Paul Lawrie’s younger son Michael are comfortably placed within the qualifying spots after one round.
Lawrie had a two-under 70 with Scott returning a 71, both on Rosemount.
Veteran former international and multiple Blairgowrie club champion Glenn Campbell is also well placed after a par round of 72.
There’s work to be done by some fancied names, however, with internationalist Jamie Stewart a shot outside the cut line after a two-over 74 on Lansdowne. The 2016 champion George Duncan is also on that mark.
Sam Locke, winner in 2017, opted not to defend his title, turning professional after winning the Silver Medal for low amateur at the Open Championship two weeks ago.
Ryan Lumsden, the current international who qualified for the US Open in June and is a team-mate of McIntosh at Northwestern, is another notable absentee from the field.