Angus Carrick: Dream of winning national title never died

Angus Carrick may have realised during a spell at Stirling University that he wasn’t destined for a career in the professional ranks, but that didn’t mean his golfing dreams died.

Craigielaw's Angus Carrick with the trophy after his win in the Scottish Amateur Championship at Murcar Links. Picture: Scottish Golf.

While former team-mates Jack McDonald, Craig Howie and Cormac Sharvin all made the switch to the paid game after graduating, Carrick got a job as an actuary and spent the best part of three years with his head buried in books.

But, as he carved out his career in the world of problem solving and strategic thinking with Royal London in Edinburgh, he still believed he had a big win in him on the golf course.

It came on Saturday, when the 27-year-old, who was brought up in the west of Scotland but now lives in Gullane with girlfriend Tara Mactaggart and is a member of both Craigielaw and Archerfield Links, won the Scottish Amateur Championship at Murcar Links.

In doing so, Carrick emulated his dad David, who landed the same prize at Southerness in 1985, two years before he played in the Walker Cup at Sunningdale.

“I always believed that I could win a big event, I always thought my golf game was good enough for that to happen,” Carrick jnr told The Scotsman.

“Even through the past few years when I started working after leaving uni, I thought that if I managed to stay competitive, I was good enough and last week turned out to be my big week.

“When I was Stirling, I was on a team with a lot of good players and a lot of players that have played for their countries. You are talking about Jack McDonald, Cormac Sharvin and Craig Howie.

“When I was going through uni, I struggled with my golf and it probably wasn’t at the level these guys were at, so I didn’t think that pro golf was the right path for me.

“I decided to stay amateur, get a job, start working and I’ve been doing that for four years now while playing amateur golf. The dream of winning a national title never died and the perseverance never stopped to try and keep getting better each year.”

That has also been the attitude of Kilmacolm’s Matt Clark, who is a manager with TSB Bank but has never backed down in his tussles with the young guns, having shot a course-record 62 at Nairn as recently as June to be the top qualifier in the Amateur Championship.

“Matt is a perfect example of showing that you can still compete at the highest level while working if you are smart with your time,” observed Carrick, who is hoping his title triumph will help him secure a Scotland debut in next month’s Home Internationals at Hankley Common in Surrey.

“First and foremost, you put in the work for your full-time job, but you also put in the work for your golf.

“You don’t necessarily have to be a full-time amateur to compete at the top level. I think it’s just a case of managing your time, doing the right things and not over-exerting yourself.

“But I also think it (having a job) is good because it gives you something to focus your mind on away from golf. It’s something to distract you. I think there are a lot of benefits to it.”

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