Golf did Scottish legend proud as new star flying Saltire stirs excitement

I reckon it’s time for an upbeat column because, quite frankly, the world can be a miserable place at times and golf has not escaped in that respect due to everything that has contributed to the game being in an ongoing fractured state despite Donald Trump’s bid to act as a peacemaker.

It’s been a combination of things over the past few days that has left me feeling it would be nice to write something positive - not necessarily for a change, I hope - after being reminded yet again that golf is the greatest sport of all and, in my book anyway, always will be.

On Saturday afternoon, I joined a group of 430 people at a Memorial & Service of Thanksgiving - it was conducted by the Reverend Dr Donald MacEwan, the University of St Andrews chaplain - for the Life of James Colin Farmer in the Robert Burns Ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel on the outskirts of St Andrews.

To most people, of course, he was better known as Jim and, just under four months after his passing in the week he turned 76, what a truly marvellous celebration it was for the man who was widely regarded as ‘Mr Golf’ in St Andrews.

Jim Farmer’s life was celebrated during a memorial service in at Fairmont St Andrews on Saturday | Getty Images

Yes, of course, it was a sad affair, with tears being shed by family members in particular, but, at the same time, everyone there was left in no doubt whatsoever why Farmer will forever be remembered in the game here in Scotland and rightly so.

PGA professionals had travelled from all over the country to pay their respect to someone who was one of their own, Farmer having been afforded not only Master Professional status by The Belfry-based organisation but also made an honorary member.

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The R&A, through a mix of club members and either current or past staff members and office bearers, was also represented en masse, mainly, of course, in recognition of the fact that Farmer, who grew up in nearby small village of Balmullo, was the Honorary Professional of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

David Scott, a fellow proud Fifer and now the general manager at Dumbarnie Links, delivered a superb tribute to Farmer’s contribution to both The PGA and St Andrews, as did David Wright from the perspective of The R&A, though he, too, had initially become a close friend through The PGA.

Both did themselves and the game proud by providing well-crafted words to back up a pictorial glimpse of Farmer’s life and, boy, did he have some magical memories, none more so than the day he was honoured by St Andrews University in a ceremony alongside Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Padraig Harrington and Johann Rupert. Just think about that for one moment when we are talking here about someone who grew up a few miles away.

Kevin McAlpine, right and pictured caddying for compatriot Martin Laird on the PGA Tour, is being honoured through the staging of a new mid-amateur event | Getty Images

“He would have been humbled by the wonderful turnout,” Farmer’s wife, Denise, wrote in a message to me over the weekend and, though I had not actually met her before Saturday, it was evident why reference was made to the role she had played in Farmer achieving as much as he did in his beloved game.

On my drive home from the Fairmont Hotel, I definitely felt good about the sport that is not only my working life but a chunk of my personal time, too, and it got me thinking that a couple of other things had done likewise over the previous couple of days.

One was picking up a story on two new mid-amateur events being launched in Scotland this year and being named ‘The Hutcheon’ and ‘The McAlpine’ in honour of Ian Hutcheon, the legendary Scottish amateur, and Kevin McAlpine, a well-known figure in the Scottish game who was taken from us way too early around 18 months ago.

Kingsfield member Allyn Dick and Blairgowrie’s Connor Neil, brother of former Amateur champion Bradley, are the driving forces behind the launch of the tournaments - one will take place at Monifieth Links and the other at Alyth as they are the clubs where Hutcheon and McAlpine honed their skills - and both are welcome additions to the schedule.

The R&A and Scottish Golf both used to run mid-amateur events, but, for a reason that, as far as I am aware anyway, was never really explained by either organisation, they fell by the wayside, leaving a glaring gap between elite amateur golf and seniors’ golf.

In chats with Dick and Neil, it is clear to see that they are both very passionate indeed about teeing up such opportunities for working amateurs like themselves and, on the back of Paul Lawrie setting up the Tartan Pro Tour and Alan Tait first launching his Get Back to Golf Tour and then adding a Scottish Women’s Amateur Tour, it is terrific to see lots of people being pro-active on the tournament front.

To the delight of many people, Lorna McClymont has made an encouraging start in hew new professional career | Bounce Sport

The second thing that added to that feeling of positivity about Scottish golf right now is not only seeing Lorna McClymont make such an encouraging start to her new career in the professional ranks but also witnessing just how popular she is within the golfing community.

Yes, of course, it is way too early to have a stab at what she might go on and achieve in the game, but one of the biggest challenges when making the move she’s just made is getting comfortable in a new environment and, having now made three cuts out of three and come close to landing a win in her latest outing, there is absolutely no denying that McClymont has hit the ground running.

In my dealings with her over the past few years, I was struck by the fact that she is just a really nice person and, by the looks of things, lots of others share that view, hence why so many people are excited to see what lies ahead for her.

Talking of nice people, I sat beside David Rickman at Jim Farmer’s service and, though it didn’t come from him, I believe The R&A’s long-serving rules guru has wasted no time landing a first medal success at St Andrews in his well-deserved retirement.

There, an upbeat column for you!