Martin Dempster: Amateurs must not forget there's no place like home

Published on Monday 21 March 2011 13:08

IN ADDITION to the fact they've both held the world No 1 ranking, Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood share something else in common which I believe is worth recalling as the new amateur season, domestically at least, is about to get under way.

Both Englishmen made their mark in Scotland before joining the professional ranks, a fresh-faced Faldo winning the Craigmillar Park Open in 1976 and Westwood claiming the Amateur Champion Gold Medal at Leven 17 years later as he too was cutting his competitive teeth.

The latter, in fact, came close to completing a notable double on that trip north of the border from Worksop, losing in a play-off for the European Amateur Championship - a title won the following year by Stephen Gallacher and, the year after that, Sergio Garcia at Dalmahoy.

The face of the amateur game may have changed considerably over the past 20 years and the recent successes of both Troon Welbeck's Michael Stewart and David Law, of Hazlehead, during a trip by Scotland's leading amateurs to South Africa are certainly praiseworthy, as well as being useful for them in a Walker Cup year.

However, the value of events such as those won by Faldo and Westwood at the outset of their careers should never be under-estimated, hence why it is so encouraging to see that the 50th staging of the Craigmillar Park Open in just over a fortnight's time has attracted another strong field.

It's no secret that the course in the heart of Edinburgh has never exactly been a favourite for some players due to its hilly terrain close to the Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill, but add the likes of Ronnie Shade, Charlie Green, Andrew Oldcorn, Marc Warren, Steven O'Hara, Lloyd Saltman and Scott Jamieson to Faldo's name on the roll of honour, and it's certainly not stopped many from rolling up there every spring.

It's the same over on the other side of the Firth of Forth at Leven, which holds the distinction of staging two top amateur events every year - the season-opening Scottish Champion of Champions in April and the Gold Medal, the oldest amateur stroke-play competition in the world, in August.

Predominantly for home-based players, though rising English star Tommy Fleetwood was a welcome addition to the field last year, the Champion of Champions' roll of honour is a who's who in Scottish amateur golf, the winners having included Alan Brodie, Ian Hutcheon, George Macgregor, Sandy Stephen, Graeme Shaw, Jim Milligan, Garry Hay, Dean Robertson, Raymond Russell, Gordon Sherry, Stephen Gallacher, Stuart Wilson and George Murray.

Many of those names are also engraved on the winners' board for the Gold Medal, which, in addition to Westwood, also includes another player who went on to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, Swede Per-Ulrik Johansson having struck gold in 1986, a feat emulated by one his countrymen, Mathias Eliasson a decade later.

Westwood, who was 20 at the time of his win on the Fife coast, beat Newbattle's Paul Ramsay into second place, with David Downie, of Ladybank, a shot further back in the bronze medal position. Downie, who won the Scottish Stroke Play Championship the following year, recalls Westwood as being a player who was "focused" and knew a bright future lay ahead for him in the game, "He certainly wasn't hanging around for the Walker Cup. He was straight off to play for money," noted the Fifer.

Along with Andrew Coltart, his brother-in-law, Westwood subsequently made a donation to the event through ISM, their management company, as a mark of how much they appreciated playing in it. "It was a no-brainer as it was a tournament we both loved," said Coltart of the gesture. "The late David Dowie (a past captain and honorary member of Leven Golfing Society] was a lovely man who did a great job looking after all the players when we were there. All the top amateurs had won the Gold Medal and, naturally, you wanted to get your name on it."

According to Downie, successes in countries like South Africa, Argentina or wherever are all fine and good but nothing should matter more to a young Scottish amateur than tasting success on home soil.

"I think Scottish players are very much spoilt when it comes to these 72-hole tournaments," he added. "These events are steeped in history and they are great places to go and play against some of the best players in Britain. In certain years, they are also a good warm-up for the Open qualifying at these courses."

Scott Knowles, the current Scotland captain, believes too many players join the paid ranks these days without having learned the knack of winning.

Downie, who is now coaching, agrees, saying: "I would make it a criteria that a player had to win one of these events before I'd contemplate working with them."As two of the greatest golfers to come out of the British Isles, Faldo and Westwood clearly benefited from their participation in these respected events and that's something our leading amateurs should bear in mind, no matter the exotic climes on offer in the winters ahead.