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Daily Record
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
I'm 2025 Open leader and Rangers legend's brother is guiding me around Royal Portrush
Haotong Li leads the way in Northern Ireland and a famous Ibrox name is on course for a 36th career triumph Haotong Li shot to the top of The Open with the assistance of swing coach Jamie Gough. The brother of former Scotland and Rangers footballing icon Richard is steering the Chinese star at Royal Portrush. Gough's players have been flying this term with Li already winning in Qatar. The coach has also helped Scots star Connor Syme to victory at the KLM Open, his first on the DP World Tour, and the master coach also worked with New Zealander Ryan Fox, who has landed two titles on the PGA Tour this season. Gough could rack up a stunning 36th success of his coaching career at Royal Portrush if the Asian star gets the job done. Li was delighted with his opening 67 and said: 'I think 18. I tried to avoid a bogey and did it, which is great. I've been playing quite solid the whole year so far until the last couple weeks, so hopefully, keep the momentum and have some good results come in.' The coach has been part of 35 Tour wins in a fabulous career, but when speaking at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, he modestly smiled: 'I've been fortunate. I've worked with a lot of good players, so it's enjoyable. 'Last year I ended up doing 38 events on both sides and tried to do both tours. And at the beginning of this year I did the first 11 of 12 events and I did most of them in America. And then I came back, had a few health issues and I decided not to do America after a while. More just needed some rest, really, you know. But a lot of tests and strong as an ox. So I've just been out in Europe and it's been great. The boys have done well. 'It was brilliant to see Connor win. Haotong, nice to see him getting his confidence back because he went off the boil for a few years, but he's coming back nicely. "Essentially, I had a nice sort of four-year run with him [Fox]. With me not going back to America, it's not going to be ideal for us to work together. But you always feel vested in what a player does if you spend some time with him. Ewan's had a nice couple of solid weeks and is starting to play well again.' You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
Daily Record
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Connor Syme on Bob MacIntyre inspiration and Home of Golf strains
Scots star admits there's expectation on the boys from golf's birthplace Connor Syme senses an added pressure representing the Home of Golf as Bob MacIntyre sets the benchmark. The Fifer says it's back to work after the highs of his KLM Open win and he's aiming for a big week at The Renaissance. Syme is amongst six Tartan stars looking to deliver at the Genesis Scottish Open and emulate MacIntyre's success of 12 months ago. The 29-year-old knows there is always a degree of expectation on Scots stars as he addressed the current position of the game in his country. Syme stated: 'I guess we are probably kind of getting it back. Certainly, when I was coming through amateur golf, the talent that we have in Scotland for whatever reason didn't end up making it on Tour, certainly, at that point. 'I think a few of those guys probably still could do it, but, from my age group growing up, there's quite a lot of us have managed to get on Tour and have won, which is awesome. 'I think we're all pushing each other on where we can all get to, who knows. Obviously, with the Home of Golf, it definitely carries its pressures and stuff with that about trying to live up to that. 'Bob is doing absolutely brilliantly and we are all trying to get, hopefully, to where he gets to. Growing up playing golf with him, you always had that kind of tenacity and willingness to do really, really well in tournaments. He's always won big tournaments growing up. 'It's not that surprising, but seeing him actually going and doing it is really impressive and the results he's had here, certainly, the last couple years, he basically won it two years in a row, barring Rory [McIlroy] finishing the way he did a couple years ago. 'It shows it's possible and he's doing just absolutely brilliantly, and it is really good to see. Obviously, I watched all the US Open and he looked like the guy that was going to win it. It's very inspiring.' Syme wants a MacIntyre moment at Renaissance and continued: 'Even when I won in Holland, it was like taking you back as a kid to when you're put to go try and win tournaments. For us, being Scottish, they are the ones you think about more, The Open, The Scottish Open, the Masters, they are the stuff you dream about. 'Obviously, having got a win, it's definitely given me a lot of belief that I can do that. That is a dream to have that sort of moment. But you've got to play so much golf to get to that point and that's the kind of work we're doing out there, to try and make moments like that possible.' As well as the trophy in East Lothian, there are three places available for The Open at Royal Portrush and Syme is determined to return having featured in the 147th Championship at the venue six years ago. He said: 'It would be awesome to go back. Looking at this as the last opportunity to try and get in, would be cool. But I was chatting to a few people about it. This is obviously such a massive tournament and that's the dangling carrot, too. 'But I'm trying to focus as well as I can and do as well as I can in this tournament and hopefully I can play well enough to tick off a lot of things. 'The thing with golf, there's always something, you always want something more. This is a great tournament. 'I'm going to try my best to do as best I can here and, hopefully, I can get some nice rewards from that.'
Daily Record
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Golf guru and Rangers hero brother hoping for more success at Scottish Open
Jamie Gough's players keep racking up the wins with his coaching class Swing maestro Jamie Gough is racking up the titles and could land a stunning 36th success of his coaching career at the Genesis Scottish Open. The golf guru, who is the brother of former Scotland, Rangers and Dundee United football star Richard, is steering home heroes Connor Syme and Ewen Ferguson into their Renaissance bid and he's already been on the scoresheet plenty this term. Syme's success at the KLM Open, his first on the DP World Tour, last month was a major moment for the Fifer and also another notch for Gough. The master coach also worked with New Zealander Ryan Fox, who has landed two titles on the PGA Tour this season. Another Gough charge Haotong Li, whom he spent plenty time with on the Renaissance range on Monday, also hit the winners circle in Qatar. In total, the coach has been part of 35 Tour wins in a fabulous career, but he modestly smiled: 'I've been fortunate. I've worked worked with a lot of good players, so it's enjoyable. 'Last year I ended up doing 38 events on both sides and tried to do both tours. And at the beginning of this year I did the first 11 of 12 events and I did most of them in America. And then I came back, had a few health issues and I decided not to do America after a while. More just needed some rest, really, you know. But a lot of tests and strong as an ox. So I've just been out on Europe and it's been great. The boys have done well. 'It was brilliant to see Conor win. Haotong, nice to see him getting his confidence back because he went off the boil for a few years, but he's coming back nicely. Essentially, I had a nice sort of four-year run with him [Fox]. With me not going back to America, it's not going to be ideal for us to work together. But you always feel vested in what a player does if you spend some time with him. Ewan's had a nice couple of solid weeks and is starting to play well again.' Gough loves being at the Renaissance and said: 'Almost my favourite of the year because it's just a brilliant place to be and the course is good. Sunshine, it's unusual, probably won't last this week, but we'll see. Apparently it's supposed to be good, so it should be good. 'I'll be here until Sunday. Go to Portrush on Monday.' He's hoping one of the stars he works with can lift the title before he departs for Northern Ireland and, although not at Renaissance, he does have a Scottish Open title on the CV from seven years ago just along the road at Gullane. He said: 'I'd love that to happen, yeah. This would be a great one. I've won this one before with Brandon Stone. He seems to be on a track coming back. he's a nice young player.'
Scotsman
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
'We're getting there' - Connor Syme opens up on state of Scottish golf
Scotland's newest KLM Open winner reflects on valuable support he received as an amateur Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Connor Syme reckons Scotland's next generation of professionals - the likes of Connor Graham, Cameron Adam and Hannah Darling - would benefit from the same level of support that helped him become the country's newest DP World Tour winner. Along with Bob MacIntyre, Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson among others, Syme gained valuable experience from playing in Challenge Tour events through an amateur-to-professional initiative involving Scottish Golf and Edinburgh-based Bounce Sport. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Coupled with playing in events around the world thanks to support he received as a Scottish Golf squad member, that gave Syme the platform to hit the ground running when he made the switch to the paid ranks in 2017. Connor Syme talks to the media during a press conference prior to the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club |The 31-year-old is now teeing up alongside some of the world's top players in this week's Genesis Scottish Open as the KLM Open winner after landing a maiden DP World Tour triumph, handling a pre-event press conference at The Renaissance Club in the same polished manner as the final round in Amsterdam last month. 'Good question,' he replied to being asked if he felt that Scotland as a professional elite golfing nation punches above or below its weight in the modern-day game, with MacIntyre, helped by his double win on the PGA Tour last season sitting 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking but only Ferguson being the other player flying the Saltire sitting in the current top 150. 'I guess we are probably kind of getting it back. Certainly when I was coming through amateur golf, the talent that we had in Scotland for whatever reason didn't end up making it on tour at that point. 'I think a few of those guys probably still could do it, but it's obviously nice that from my age group growing up, quite a lot of us have managed to get on tour and have won on tour, which is awesome. But, yeah, obviously with the home of golf, it definitely carries its pressures and trying to live up to that. Bob is obviously doing absolutely brilliantly and we are all trying to get, hopefully, to where he gets to.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The likes of Denmark, which has produced a whole host of DP World Tour winners in recent years, and Sweden are nations that seem to keep producing talented players on a constant basis, with Syme being asked if he had seen anything those countries do that Scotland doesn't. 'I'm not too sure,' he replied to that one. 'I think certainly from my point of view and I guess I can only speak about it from my experience with Scottish Golf, I think I got it really, really good. We had such amazing support, and if I'm honest, I didn't go to college in America because of the support Scottish Golf offered us. We'd spend eight weeks in South Africa and four weeks in the Middle East. In 2016, I won the Australian Amateur when I was out there for four weeks. Connor Syme landed his maiden DP World Tour win in the KLM Open last month |'I think that was a real exposure to what professional golf is like. I don't even play four or five weeks in a row now. But having that experience of being away for long periods of time helped me so much. That was definitely something I look back on as going, wow, that has really, really helped me to get on tour and understand what it's like. 'After I won the Australian Amateur, I played in the Joburg Open on the DP World Tour. These were all little milestones I wanted to try and expose myself to before turning professional. I played in The Open and Walker Cup and stuff like that. That was all stuff that I drew on to then turn pro and then start off quite well.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Due to a lack of funding, the aforementioned amateur-to-pro transition scheme is no longer in place, meaning the likes of Graham and Adam, both of whom have qualified for next week's 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, and Darling, who is set to turn professional after this week's European Women's Team Championship in France, are not as well prepared when the time comes to make the switch. 'It's obviously difficult because I don't know enough about what's happening, but I think I definitely benefitted a lot from that, for sure,' continued Syme. 'I know, there was SportScotland support and we had support from Johann Rupert (through the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation) to be able to do what we did back then. It's all money-related, really, what they can afford to do. I definitely did benefit from it. 'Obviously I had support from my parents as well and, when I didn't go to college in the US, my dad was like 'right, we're going to do this for four years like you're at college almost'. I was almost serving my apprenticeship of a wee amateur kind of trying to be a pro almost through that. Although I was still working at the range (Drumoig Golf Centre), I was practising and preparing like I would be like I am now. But definitely the funding and support that we had at that point was amazing and it would obviously be brilliant for the guys and girls coming through if they can get that back.' Bob MacIntyre celebrates after being crowned as the Genesis Scottish Open champion at The Renaissance Club 12 months ago | Getty Images
STV News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- STV News
Connor Syme hopes his 'good golf can flourish' in front of home crowd
Connor Syme admits he already feels excited at the prospect of playing in front of home fans at the Scottish Open this week – and is aiming to build on last month's KLM Open triumph. The Scot celebrated his first European Tour win in Amsterdam but is back on home soil and looking to savour the experience at a tournament he feels is getting bigger by the year. Syme impressed at the Renaissance Club last year, finishing 15th, and witnessed the jubilation as fellow Scot Robert MacIntyre won the tournament. He says there was something special about the occasion and is looking forward to more of the same. 'It's obviously awesome,' he told STV. 'Just looking around, it's grown so much over the last four or five years especially. 'It's always been a massive tournament but it keeps going from strength to strength. It's just brilliant to be a part of it. 'The support, obviously from the Scottish fans is really cool. 'I finished well last year in 15th but watching Bob and the support he got, and that scene at the end, was just awesome. 'It's probably hard to replicate that anywhere in the world and it was just really, really cool.' The 29-year-old is now aiming to build on his success in the Netherlands and improve again in North Berwick, with the added incentive of possible qualification for The Open Championship if he is among the top three players who hasn't already booked their place for Royal Portrush. 'There's always something you want to achieve and I really, really want to play in The Open,' Syme admitted. 'There's no denying that and, the same as everyone teeing up this week, if you're not in already then that's definitely a goal. 'Hopefully I can play well. When I look back at my win in Holland, I was definitely brilliant at bringing myself back into the present. 'That's hopefully something I can carry on with this week and I'm hoping my good golf can flourish from there. 'It's all positives. It's been such an amazing feeling to get that first win and to come back here as a winner on tour is really special. 'I'm glad I got to play a tournament last week, though it didn't go quite as well as I liked, and hopefully I can build on the stuff that got me that win. 'I'm excited for this week. It's somewhere I have done well in the past and I'm excited to be back in Scotland.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
