Byrne’s pro test at Walker Cup warm-up

HAVING secured a top-30 finish in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, James Byrne is relishing another chance to test himself against some seasoned professionals when he lines up among the 15 amateurs in the field for the £25,000 Aberdeen Northern Open, starting today.

In the same event last year, held a month later, seven out of the 11 amateurs who teed off made the cut, with one of them, Royal Aberdeen’s Scott Larkin, lying just a shot behind halfway leader Greig Hutcheon before the tournament ended in an anti-climax as the final two rounds were washed out.

Unfortunately, Larkin is an absentee on this occasion due to an injury but, with the likes of Walker Cup selection Byrne and two-times Scottish champion David Law in the 105-strong field, Hutcheon and his fellow Tartan Tour players are set for another intriguing challenge.

Playing in his first European Tour event, Byrne shot rounds of 70, 71, 73 and 71 over the PGA Centenary Course in Perthshire to finish in a tie for 26th on three under par. The 22-year-old already has one eye on Royal Aberdeen, where he will be joined by Troon Welbeck’s Michael Stewart in the Great Britain & Ireland team next weekend, but is determined to use this event to continue building his confidence.

“I think there is a chance to go and win,” said Byrne, who has the blessing of Nigel Edwards, the Walker Cup captain, to tee it up at Meldrum House, where he is paired in the opening two rounds with fellow Banchory man Hutcheon, who is leading the Tartan Tour money-list once again, and Rowallan Castle’s Graham Fox.

“The top amateurs are not too far behind the professionals, even at the level at the Johnnie Walker Championship. I enjoyed Gleneagles and this is a good opportunity for the amateur boys to test themselves against the pros.

“For me, it is an opportunity to keep building momentum towards the Walker Cup if I can get a good result. I see it as a chance to keep playing well and building confidence. I would much rather be out competing than sitting around for two weeks thinking about the Walker Cup. It might be a good distraction; it will help playing competitive golf.

“I was happy with how I played at Gleneagles and it will be good to keep it going. It was a tough course, 7,300 yards soaking wet, so it was good going to shoot under par.”

Byrne, who can feel “the excitement building” in the North-East ahead of the Walker Cup, is expected to join the paid ranks soon after the biennial event. He has “lots of decisions” to make, including the choice of a management company, although it would seem IMG are leading the race for his signature at present.

Having spent four years in America at Arizona State, it would have been no real surprise if Byrne decided to follow in the footsteps of Martin Laird by trying to carve out a career on the PGA Tour. But, on the evidence of the past couple of years, his game seems more suited to courses on this side of the Atlantic.

“[Playing better at home] is tough to explain,” he admitted. “It might be a confidence thing. The players are so good out there and it is so competitive. If you are even slightly off your game, you end up well down the field. A couple of bad results and you can get stuck in a rut.

“It is nice to be back here with the family following you round and rooting for you. I have family coming from all over Scotland, the UK and the States for the Walker Cup. It is going to be exciting.”

Law, who was controversially overlooked for the match against the Americans – he had to settle for first reserve – after claiming the Scottish title for the second time in three years, is out in the first group today along with former winner Peter Smith, while the amateur contingent also includes SGU Order of Merit leader James White.

Two-times winner Chris Doak, who was due to be out with Walker Cup second reserve Ross Kellett and former European Tour rookie of the year Scott Henderson, has withdrawn. The 33-year-old, who finished just ahead of Byrne at Gleneagles, is recharging his batteries at home in Greenock in preparation for a busy Challenge Tour run, starting with next week’s big-money Kazakhstan Open.

West Linton’s Gareth Wright and Braid Hills-based Paul McKechnie, two Tartan Tour regulars who also played in all four rounds at the Johnnie Walker Championship, are in the North-East, as is Jason McCreadie, a two-time Northern Open winner who was close to the leaders after two rounds last year.

The field also includes two women, former Curtis Cup player Michelle Thompson, who gave a good account of herself in a battle-of-the-sexes situation in the Paul Lawrie Invitational at Deeside earlier this year, and St Andrews-based Nicola Melville.

“Aberdeen Asset Management’s support has enabled us to assemble a very strong field,” said Michael MacDougall, secretary of the Scottish PGA. “Meldrum House proved to be a very popular venue for the players last year and we are looking forward to this year’s event.

“We are anticipating a tremendous championship and it is very difficult to predict a winner.”