Latest news with #AmateurChampionship
The National
5 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Scottish Strokeplay Championship returns to North Berwick
Boris Becker, a smash-hit of a 17-year-old from Germany, would become the youngest Wimbledon champion that summer. A couple of weeks before his conquest at the All England Club, Becker romped to his first top-level triumph in the Stella Artois Championships at Queen's Club. His win wasn't enough to earn top billing in the sports pages of the Glasgow Herald that June weekend, mind you. Above a report of Becker's barnstorming breakthrough down in West Kensington was the headline act of Colin Montgomerie and his five-shot procession in the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship at North Berwick and Dunbar. One likes to imagine that a 21-year-old Monty flicked through the pages of said newspaper, caught a glimpse of Becker's feat underneath his own write up and said, 'all credit to him' in that phrase of praise that would become a bit of a trademark. Or perhaps he chirped, 'all credit to me' before pinning the cutting on to his wall of fame with gleeful gusto? Here in 2025, the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship returns to East Lothian again this weekend as the West Links at North Berwick stages the event for the first time since it co-hosted back in 1985. The decades hurtle by, don't they? 'Is it really 40 years?,' gasped Montgomerie of this passage of time. It sure is. Back in the day, a young Montgomerie had already underlined his potential by winning the Scottish Youths' title in 1983 before losing to a certain Jose Maria Olazabal in the final of the Amateur Championship at Formby a year later. 'Now on the Champions Tour, my parking spot at events is next to Jose Maria and he still mentions the Amateur Championship 40 years on,' smiled Monty of the Spaniard's gentle ribbing. In 1985, Montgomerie was a 21-year-old student at Houston Baptist University in Texas and arrived back on home soil for the Scottish Strokeplay Championship as one of the favourites. He justified that standing with a fine display of poise, polish and purpose on the east coast and eased to a victory which, at the time, was the biggest of his fledgling career. 'I'd just come back from American college and was playing better and better,' he reflected. 'I went into that event as one of the favourites and thankfully got the job done. 'The strokeplay was one of the big two amateur titles that I wanted on my CV and in 1987 I was able to win the Scottish Amateur Matchplay at Nairn. 'But I was thrilled to win that first title and it sent me on a really strong run for a few years.' That success at Dunbar in '85 helped Montgomerie secure a place in the GB&I Walker Cup team and he would retain his spot in the side two years later before making the leap into the pro ranks not long after. The rest is history. 'I look back very fondly on my amateur career,' said Monty, who was the European Tour's rookie of the year in 1988 and won his first title on the circuit the following season in Portugal by a whopping 11-shots. 'When I turned pro in September 1987, I very quickly had to go from trying to beat Sandy Stephen, George Macgregor and Ian Brotherston – all very good players - to coming up against Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle.' A new generation, including reigning Scottish Amateur Matchplay champion Alexander Farmer, will tackle the delights, the rigours and the charming quirks of North Berwick over the next three days with an international field of 144 players gathering for this terrific links test. They'll be hard pressed to put on a show like Englishman Dominic Clemons did in the championship 12 months ago. Just along the A198 at Muirfield, Clemons conjured a quite remarkable performance that left onlookers scraping their jaws off the ground as he brought the formidable Open venue to its knees with a 24-under total. His closing day rounds of 65 and 62 gave Clemons a record-busting 17-stroke win which blitzed the previous best of eight set by Barclay Howard in 1997 and matched by Tommy Fleetwood in 2009. All credit to him, as Monty might have said.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Strokeplay Championship returns to North Berwick
A couple of weeks before his conquest at the All England Club, Becker romped to his first top-level triumph in the Stella Artois Championships at Queen's Club. His win wasn't enough to earn top billing in the sports pages of the Glasgow Herald that June weekend, mind you. Above a report of Becker's barnstorming breakthrough down in West Kensington was the headline act of Colin Montgomerie and his five-shot procession in the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship at North Berwick and Dunbar. One likes to imagine that a 21-year-old Monty flicked through the pages of said newspaper, caught a glimpse of Becker's feat underneath his own write up and said, 'all credit to him' in that phrase of praise that would become a bit of a trademark. Or perhaps he chirped, 'all credit to me' before pinning the cutting on to his wall of fame with gleeful gusto? Here in 2025, the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship returns to East Lothian again this weekend as the West Links at North Berwick stages the event for the first time since it co-hosted back in 1985. The decades hurtle by, don't they? 'Is it really 40 years?,' gasped Montgomerie of this passage of time. It sure is. Back in the day, a young Montgomerie had already underlined his potential by winning the Scottish Youths' title in 1983 before losing to a certain Jose Maria Olazabal in the final of the Amateur Championship at Formby a year later. 'Now on the Champions Tour, my parking spot at events is next to Jose Maria and he still mentions the Amateur Championship 40 years on,' smiled Monty of the Spaniard's gentle ribbing. In 1985, Montgomerie was a 21-year-old student at Houston Baptist University in Texas and arrived back on home soil for the Scottish Strokeplay Championship as one of the favourites. He justified that standing with a fine display of poise, polish and purpose on the east coast and eased to a victory which, at the time, was the biggest of his fledgling career. 'I'd just come back from American college and was playing better and better,' he reflected. 'I went into that event as one of the favourites and thankfully got the job done. 'The strokeplay was one of the big two amateur titles that I wanted on my CV and in 1987 I was able to win the Scottish Amateur Matchplay at Nairn. 'But I was thrilled to win that first title and it sent me on a really strong run for a few years.' That success at Dunbar in '85 helped Montgomerie secure a place in the GB&I Walker Cup team and he would retain his spot in the side two years later before making the leap into the pro ranks not long after. The rest is history. 'I look back very fondly on my amateur career,' said Monty, who was the European Tour's rookie of the year in 1988 and won his first title on the circuit the following season in Portugal by a whopping 11-shots. 'When I turned pro in September 1987, I very quickly had to go from trying to beat Sandy Stephen, George Macgregor and Ian Brotherston – all very good players - to coming up against Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle.' A new generation, including reigning Scottish Amateur Matchplay champion Alexander Farmer, will tackle the delights, the rigours and the charming quirks of North Berwick over the next three days with an international field of 144 players gathering for this terrific links test. They'll be hard pressed to put on a show like Englishman Dominic Clemons did in the championship 12 months ago. Just along the A198 at Muirfield, Clemons conjured a quite remarkable performance that left onlookers scraping their jaws off the ground as he brought the formidable Open venue to its knees with a 24-under total. His closing day rounds of 65 and 62 gave Clemons a record-busting 17-stroke win which blitzed the previous best of eight set by Barclay Howard in 1997 and matched by Tommy Fleetwood in 2009. All credit to him, as Monty might have said.
The Herald Scotland
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow greenkeeper only Scot named to elite golfing squad
The successful applicants selected by the R&A and BIGGA, the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, will join the home greenkeeping teams hosting this summer's R&A championships. These include the 153 Open at Royal Portrush, the Senior Open at Sunningdale, the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's and Royal Cinque Ports, and the Women's Amateur Championship at Nairn. The Herald Scottish Golf Survey 2025 is now open, with every club and course in the country invited to submit their views. If your club or organisation has not already received an invitation to take part, please contact 'After an extensive application process, we have selected 10 impressive candidates who will gain a great insight into championship agronomy and greenkeeping at some of our most prestigious R&A Championships and a unique educational experience that will support them in their future careers," said Adam Newton, head of agronomy at the R&A. 'We look forward to developing the programme with BIGGA over future years and ensuring that it represents an aspirational learning experience for its members.' Each member of the programme will be embedded into the home greenkeeping team at one of the championships, while also working alongside the R&A's Championship Agronomy Team. All 10 members of the programme will assemble at Royal Birkdale for an education session, and all will be invited to attend The Open at Royal Portrush where they will learn about course preparation and the staging of a major championship. Read more: Bakery teams up with Scottish Golf for expansion drive BIGGA chief executive Jim Croxton said the emphasis is now on the successful applicants "to make the most" of this professional opportunity. 'BIGGA members have access to an incredible range of exclusive career-development opportunities and I'm convinced that the R&A Championship Agronomy Programme will soon be held among the upper echelons of those," he added. "Our collaboration with the R&A is a real vote of confidence that highlights how well thought-of our members are by the wider industry."
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Masters Helped Turn Ely Callaway Into a Golf Club Maker
Ely Callaway, founder of the namesake golf club company, did something few golf enthusiasts could imagine doing. He declined an invitation from Bobby Jones to join the Augusta National Golf Club in 1957. Jones, a revered amateur golfer who won the Grand Slam in 1930 and was a co-founder of Augusta National with Clifford Roberts, was Callaway's distant cousin and hero. Over the family's mantel, long before the Masters achieved the major status it has today, hung a lithograph of Jones winning the Amateur Championship, also known as the British Amateur, and completing the Grand Slam. Across it was a personal handwritten inscription from Jones to Callaway and his first wife, Jeanne. Bobby Jones teeing off at St. Andrews in Scotland in 1928. Jones was Callaway's distant cousin and hero. Credit... Getty Images Nicholas Callaway said his father had practical reasons to turn down Jones. 'Ely's rationale later in life when he became the Callaway of Callaway Golf was that since Augusta was only open for a portion of the year, most of the year he would spend fielding calls from friends angling to get an invitation to play,' he said. His father's posthumous memoir, 'The Unconquerable Game: My Life in Golf & Business,' is being released this month. It worked out fine for him. 'In the 1990s, he attended the Masters for many years and would get invited to play often in the days following the tournament,' his son said. The decision had to have been difficult. Something that comes across in Callaway's memoir was the impact Jones had on him. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Former amateur champion McEvoy dies, aged 72
Peter McEvoy, the first British amateur golfer to make the cut at the Masters, has died aged in London, McEvoy was brought up near Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast. Despite a gentle Scottish birr, he represented England in a decorated career among the unpaid ranks."We have lost one of amateur golf's most respected figures," said R&A chief executive Mark Darbon."Peter was an outstanding amateur golfer and enjoyed an illustrious career. He also worked so hard to develop the game as an administrator and help provide opportunities for aspiring players."On behalf of The R&A and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews I would like to offer our deepest condolences to Peter's family at this sad time."Although regarded as talented enough to make his living playing the game, McEvoy preferred to remain a leading figure away from the professional won the Amateur Championship in both 1977 and 1978, the second of those victories coming in the same year as he made it to the weekend to finish 53rd at in 1978 he was the lowest amateur at the Open, finishing in a share of 39th place. The following year at Lytham he was the leading unpaid finisher, coming tied was on the winning Walker Cup team - the amateur equivalent of the Ryder Cup - in 1989 at Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta. He went unbeaten in each of the first three sessions as the visitors built a crucial 11-5 advantage over the United States.A decade later he led GB&I to a famous 15-9 victory at Nairn in Scotland. McEvoy captained a side that included current European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Simon Dyson and Graeme played again two years later at Sea Island in Georgia, as McEvoy inspired GB&I to another convincing win. The team also included tour winner Nick Dougherty and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who would go on to win the US went on to become chairman of the R&A's selection committee while embarking on a career involving golf course design. He was a hugely respected figure in every facet of the game, receiving an OBE in 2003 for his services to golf.
