Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship: Angus Carrick lifts title to emulate dad

Angus Carrick celebrates his Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship triumph at Murcar Links in Aberdeen. Picture: Scottish Golf

His dad David claimed the title at Southerness in 1985 and 36 years later Angus emulated that feat to join an illustrious group of champions which also includes Ryder Cup

players Colin Montgomerie, Stephen Gallacher and Eric Brown and current Scottish No 1 Robert MacIntyre.

With former Walker Cup player David watching on, 27-year-old Carrick won the second but soon found himself two down when Wilson won the fourth, sixth and seventh. Carrick pulled one hole back on the eighth but it was not until he claimed both the 13th and 14th that he edged in front again and not until a closing birdie on the 18th that his victory was finally secured.

Connor Wilson lost out in the final but impressed all week at the Scottish Amateur Championship. Picture: Scottish Golf

“I’m absolutely speechless, it’s all been a blur,” said the new champion. “In fact, I’m still not sure what’s actually happened. I knew my game was good enough to compete and to win so I went out and gave it my all.

“It was a really tough game. We both hit some great shots and even after nine rounds of golf, or whatever it is, we were both playing very well. Yeah, there were a few tired swings in there, but not many. I think it was just the last six holes where I won it.”

“It’s great to emulate dad,” he added. “and great that we’ve now both got our names on the trophy. It’s nice, really nice, that we’ll always have that to share.”

One of the first people to congratulate the new champion was his father.

“I’m immensely proud of him,” Carrick Snr said. “He played great golf the last four rounds and thoroughly deserved to win. I’m delighted now to be known as Angus Carrick’s father, rather than Angus being my son. It’s a fantastic result.”

For Wilson, it was a tough end to a fine week.

“It’s always hard to lose in a final,” he said. “Coming second isn’t great initially, but when you look back at the week I’ve had, it’s been pretty good. I hit the ball great, I’ve hit the ball great all week, to be honest. But there were a few mistakes that crept in and they were costly. Angus is a great player and he didn’t give anything away. It wasn’t as if either of us was ever going to run away with it, that’s for sure.”

In the semi-finals Carrick came from two down with two to play to beat Connor Graham from Blairgowrie, who, at the age of 14, was bidding to become the youngest ever winner.

For a while it looked as if he would extend his improbable tilt at the title but Carrick won both the 17th and 18th and then claimed his place in the final by winning on the first extra hole.

Wilson, 20, was never behind in the other semi-final against 23-year-old Andrew Ni from Murrayfield Golf Club in Edinburgh. The Castle Park player won the fifth and the sixth

before Ni pegged one hole back with a win on the 11th but Wilson then claimed four holes in a row from the 12th to complete an impressive 4&3 victory.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription