Outsiders unlikely to spring surprise as Scottish Boys' gets under way

THE changing face of amateur golf is likely to be illustrated at Dunbar this week, when the chances of an unknown winning the 70th staging of the Scottish Boys' Championship appear to be slim.

Colin Gillies, who has gone on to become the Tartan Tour's record money-winner, was playing off three when he lifted the title at the East Lothian venue in 1983, while Alan Tait, another former No 1 on the Scottish circuit, had a handicap of four when he triumphed there three years later.

The last staging of the event at Dunbar, in 2007, also produced something of a surprise as the unheralded Paul Ferrier from Baberton claimed the crown, but the reality of the modern game is that only a few in a starting line-up of 256 players can lay claim to a genuine chance of tasting glory this week.

Ferrier apart, wins by Paul Doherty (2003), Scott Henry (2004 and 2005), James White (2006), Michael Stewart (2008), David Law (2009) and then Grant Forrest, who beat Ian Redford in the final 12 months ago to claim the title at West Kilbride, are a clear indication that it is becoming tougher for dark horses to upstage the leading contenders.

"It would be very unlikely for that to happen," said Forrest, on being informed of the handicaps Gillies and Tait played off when they made names for themselves in the traditional season-opening event. "Handicaps don't mean a huge amount in this event but it is still a rough guide to how good players are."

Forrest, who is bidding to become only the fourth player in the event's history to make a successful defence of the title, faces an early rise this morning for his first-round match against Dunfermline's Jordan Lamb at 7.25am.

The Craigielaw 17-year-old picked out Dumfries & County's Liam Johnston, a quarter-finalist in the Scottish Amateur Championship at Gullane last summer, and Barassie's Jack McDonald, the player he beat at the semi-final stage last year, as two of the main dangers, though conceded the other members of the Scottish Boys' squad all had strong credentials, too.

Included among them are Ewan Scott, regarded as the best prospect to come out of St Andrews for some time, Blairgowrie's Bradley Neil, another rising star on the back of his successive Scottish Under-14 title triumphs, and Daniel Hendry, who is based in the United Arab Emirates but displayed his liking for links golf when finishing fourth in last year's Scottish Boys' Stroke Play Championship at Craigielaw.