Coltart’s advice spurs on Kay to go one better in Amateur

The East Lothian player has gone off the boil since producing an outstanding effort to reach the final in last year’s event at Western Gailes.

But he’s headed up to Royal Dornoch, where he enters the fray tomorrow against Jeff Wright from Forres, feeling encouraged after speaking to Coltart.

The former Ryder Cup player is a mentor for the Scottish squad and offered Kay some welcome advice ahead of his bid to go one better in the SGU’s flagship event.

“I had a chat with Andrew and he told me, ‘believe in yourself’,” said the East Lothian player. “He said I should be going to Dornoch feeling confident and having a positive attitude.”

Kay was a relative unknown in Scottish golfing circles when he made it to the final 12 months ago, losing to  Hazlehead’s David Law.

He earned trips to the United Arab Emirates and South Africa on the back of that performance but has been disappointed with his form this season.

“I’ve been struggling with a few things but I am heading up to Dornoch with a fresh mind,” he added. “First and foremost, I am hoping to dip into the memory bank from last year and hope that helps me.

“I’m also going to head into the event with the same attitude as 12 months ago. I went to Western Gailes with no  expectations. I went there to enjoy myself and that seemed to work. Hopefully that will be the case once again.”

A practice round in windy conditions at Dunbar on Friday was timely, as was a session with coach Colin Brooks at the Braid Hills Golf Centre the  following day.

“I’ve been working hard on my game and it has definitely been a bit better,” he admitted.

“It’s my first visit to Royal Dornoch and I’ve heard a lot of good things about the course.

“As I’m not playing my first-round match until Tuesday I will be able to walk around it on Monday to have another look at the things I’ve learned from my practice round.”

Craigielaw’s Grant Forrest also launches his title bid in the Highlands tomorrow, when the 2010 Scottish Boys’ champion takes on the host club’s Neil Hampton.

Dispatch Trophy winner Mark Dickson (Mortonhall) is another Tuesday starter, as is Dalmahoy’s Iain Wilson, who will be aiming to oust second seed Brian Soutar (Leven Golfing Society).