Ross reigns as Scotland’s amateur of the year

The 23-year-old Royal Burgess player has climbed above compatriots Graeme Robertson, Grant Forrest, Jack McDonald and Bradley Neil to be the highest-placed Scot – 97th – in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) at last Friday’s cut-off.

Having seen his game steadily improve since reaching the semi-finals of the 2011 Scottish Amateur, Ross was a consistent performer on the amateur  circuit this summer. He finished third in the Welsh Open Stroke-Play and also gave a good  account of himself in the Scottish Stroke-Play (ninth) and  St Andrews Links Trophy (12th).

The bulk of his world rankings points, however, were picked up in two European events. He led the stroke-play qualifying for the Team Championship in Denmark, where Scotland won the silver medal, then finished 11th in the Individual Championship in Spain.

“To win this award is a great accolade and definitely caps off my year,” said Ross, who succeeds McDonald and joins a list of illustrious former winners including Andrew Coltart, Dean Robertson and Richie Ramsay.

“I had a good year, particularly the most competitive summer I’ve had. I played well in big European events, like the European Individual, and jumped up the rankings on the back of that.”

The University of Houston team member added: “Coming close in Wales kind of set me up for the year. I had a chance to win there, but ended up third to Rhys Pugh and Garrick Porteous, who both went on to play in the Walker Cup.

“I was also very proud to play for Scotland. It was a big achievement to do that, as I’ve always wanted to play for my country.”