2000 Amateur Season

2001 Walker Cup Squad
A good boost for next year is my selection for the provisional squad for next year's Walker Cup. There have been 29 people selected at this stage, so plenty more selection to come! The Walker Cup is being held at Sea Island, Georgia in the USA next August and there is a chance to play there in the Jones Cup in February, so some warmer climes may be beckoning. At the moment I am practising hard with my coach at Skibo Castle and getting as many games in as the cold weather allows!

2000: Another Season Over
Another season over and a very successful one for me too. Reaching the last 16 of the Scottish, US and British Amateurs, as well as a top 12 finish in the European Amateur shows that the consistency is there both at home and abroad. However the highlight has to be the Scottish Team win at the Home Internationals. It was great to be a part of the first Scottish team to win in 14 years. Hopefully it will not be so long until the next one! I'll be practising hard over the winter and look forward to reporting on my tournaments in 2001.

2000 US Amateur, Baltusrol GC
Managed to qualify for the knockout stages right on the mark with rounds of 72 and 74 for a +5 total. However when it comes to matchplay that doesn't matter! In the first round I defeated reinstated amateur and joint leading qualifier, Jeff Wilson (USA) 1up (proves my point!). Second round saw a tough match with Chris Zeller (USA) which I won at the 19th. This lead to a head to head with fellow Walker Cup teammate Luke Donald, which unfortunately saw Luke win 5&3. Great experience to play in this event and now looking forward to the Home Internationals where it is likely to be a bit cooler!

2000 European Amateur
Another good European Amateur for me, with a 12th place finish at 9 under par. The scoring was very low with the winner shooting 25 under. I felt I left a few shots out there so it was not an impossible score. On the par 72 course I shot 71, 69, 68 and 71, with my second round probably being the best. I was 4-under par after 5 holes and birdied the last two as well - we won't go into what happened in between! My last round was also pretty solid apart from a couple of 6s on the back 9. Overall my long game is on good shape and I can take some consolation from my placing in Europe and that I was the leading Scot in the tournament. Not much chance to rest at home as I am off to Baltusrol for the US Amateur. See y'all when I get back.

2000 Scottish Amateur
Acheived my best performance in this event, although once again it was a quarter final exit. The last eight included all the bets players in the competition so it was good to be in the final mix-up. The early rounds were very tough and I won 1up, 1up and at the 19th before losing to Barry Hume 2&1 in the quarters. Royal Dornoch was in excellent condition and the weather was great so at least I got some sun in before heading off to Europe!

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