Amateur championship
- Thread starter patricks148
- Start date
User20204
Well-known member
I watched that earlier on fb, ye good luck to him.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
All Scottish quarter final tomorrow.
Who's in that, struggled to find any of the results of yesterdays games
Humpy
Active member
https://www.randa.org/en/championsh...p/mp-results#/competition/2058825/matchplay/5
Looking at the list of past winners and runners-up it's quite surprising how few of them have gone on to have stellar careers on tour. Ok, winning the Amateur Championship doesn't guarantee success on tour but having won it must set some kind of expectation. Maybe that's half the problem; the expectation is too great.
Looking at the list of past winners and runners-up it's quite surprising how few of them have gone on to have stellar careers on tour. Ok, winning the Amateur Championship doesn't guarantee success on tour but having won it must set some kind of expectation. Maybe that's half the problem; the expectation is too great.
thanks for the link, watched the day 3 highlights and it gave the impression Sany had lost 2 and 1 and not won.
shame had to end up with the two Scots playing each other.
User20204
Well-known member
Tommy Fleetwood's done ok
The Australian guy is 7th ranked amateur in the world so is probably favourite though means nothing really.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
Euan Walker and Sandy Scott.
Will be a very good game.
Will be a very good game.
Humpy
Active member
And so has Garcia. And of course some are having decent careers as 'journeyman' (which is an awful phrase but you know what I mean) e.g. Macintyre, Langasque, Lombard.
Grant85
Head Pro
Even looking at the US amateur Champions from the past 30 years or so - sure there are names you recognise as tour pros, and some you don't. But looks like the last guy to win it and then win a Pro Major is Tiger.
Not sure. Perhaps there is a random element to it, given the matchplay section and that it's on a links course.
Also I imagine some of the really good amateurs turn professional early and don't really get many goes at this.
It seems to me the only reason some people stay as an amateur is if they win the UK or US Amatuer - they then get into the following years Masters / Open / US Open, & maybe a Walker Cup. So lets say someone wins it this year, they could turn pro and go to Q school / Challenge tour / Web.com etc in the autumn or they could stay Am and play in those majors the following year - which open up quite a bit of recognition as well as the chance for some prestigious silver medals.
It's a big decision for a youngster who might be desperate to go and earn a living. And in some cases will actually need to go and earn some money unless they have a fairly well off family. Might be that some of the guys who are desperate to turn pro would simply rather not have that decision to make.
Sam Locke from Aberdeen - last year, qualified for the Open off his own back (I believe through qualifying rather than as an amateur winner), made the cut and won the silver medal. Decided to turn Pro straight away, got a few starts on the ET - but is now building his career on the Euro Pro / Challenge Tour etc. Some felt he should stay and possibly play Walker Cup (Sept 2019), which would have meant staying amateur for another 15 months. Then say he played US and UK amateurs and won one of them... he's then going to stay amateur another year to play in the majors? Or at least till April to play in the Masters? It does seem like a lot of lost time where you are paying a lot of money for coaching / travel / entry fees to try and compete at the highest level, rather than getting your head down for 18 months, maybe making a bit of cash or at least covering your costs, and possibly being on the European Tour by this time next year.
aren't the majority of these lads all at US Collages though, you would be sily to turn pro before completing that first. I could see some that were't turning pro, nothing to lose i suppose
Humpy
Active member
It's clear that being a high achieving amateur is no guarantee of a lucrative pro career and vice versa. I suspect that a lot of young amateurs are probably told that unless they are off +5 (at least!) it's not worth them turning pro whereas my advise to any amateur would be give it a go, what have you got to lose. Ok, I'm (conveniently) ignoring the logistics of turning pro and the costs involved but surely it would be worth a punt.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
Grant85
Head Pro
Well Viktor Hovland and Matt Wolff have just turned pro this week. Assume they were finishing college and were probably good enough to have turned pro earlier in the year, albeit Hovland was going to play in US Open as an amatuer. Assume he would also have gotten into Portrush if he'd stayed Am.
They've also given up Walker Cup chances in order to get 7 starts (sponsors invites, but Wolff has used one in Phoenix) on the PGA Tour and possibly earn some status (realistically unlikely between now and August) but might help them avoid Web.Com Q school.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
It's rather tight and nervy if the live scoring is correct.
Every quarter final is level through 9,10,12 and 13 holes respectively. Guess it'll come down to a singular peace of magic or nerves in the run in.
Every quarter final is level through 9,10,12 and 13 holes respectively. Guess it'll come down to a singular peace of magic or nerves in the run in.
azazel
Assistant Pro
Bob MacIntyre is 22 years old, in his first year on tour and has had two pretty big runners-up finishes to date to lie well up the Race to Dubai. If that's the macintyre you refer to then journeyman is definitely an awful phrase in his case.
Garush34
Journeyman Pro
Was thinking the same, can hardly call a guy in his second year as a pro a journey man.
Come on Sandy Boy
did i ever mention i beat him in our scratch Knock out one year
did i ever mention i beat him in our scratch Knock out one year
Humpy
Active member
I knew some people would bite at that!! I couldn't think of another phrase to describe a Tour pro who hasn't won loads of titles, majors, etc but was making a decent living. And to be fair to Macintyre he was runner-up in the Amateur Championship fairly recently (2016), turned pro in 2017 and then got top 15 on the Challenge Tour which is how he got his card. So, his trajectory is definitely on the up. Sorry, he was a bad example on my part!
Ok, how about someone like Sam Hutsby, runner-up in 2009.
Ok, how about someone like Sam Hutsby, runner-up in 2009.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
That's the Aussie lad through to the semi. Great birdie on 18 to knock the stuffing out of your opponent.
