They’ll be getting the bunting up on the A96 through Nairn after this. Calum Scott’s Open Championship debut here at Royal Troon ended with a nice clump of silver to tuck in his pocket
At eight-over-par – he closed with a 76 – the 20-year-old highlander finished a fine campaign as the leading amateur and marched on to the 18th green at the official prize giving ceremony to pick up a treasured silver medal.
He joins some esteemed company too. The likes of Jose Maria Olazabal, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy all have one on the mantelpiece. There would be a few glasses raised in the Nairn clubhouse last night. And maybe a few more when Scott gets back up the road.
“Super happy, buzzing, excited, relieved as well,” gasped Scott at the end. Three shots better off than his nearest rival for the amateur prize going into the final day, Scott had a decent enough cushion. He could even afford the luxury of a back nine of 40 as he eased over the finishing line.
“I made it hard for myself but after about the 14th or 15th someone said, ‘you’ve got a five shot lead’ and at that point I was pretty chilled,” he said. “I could take it easy from there and didn’t have to be too stressed.”
The wander up the 18th to a rousing reception wasn’t a bad way to bow out. “My caddie told me to soak it all in,” he added. “I did the last 100 yards just walking, and I got kind of emotional. It's a memory I'll cherish for a lifetime.
“There's been a bunch of silver medal winners who have gone on to do incredible things in the game. I've got a year left at college and I think winning this does a lot for my amateur career and kind of helps me the next year or so as I transition into pro golf. It's just a really cool accolade to have alongside some big names.”
As Scott savoured his silver lining, Ewen Ferguson, who made Friday’s cut by a single shot, took the bragging rights as the leading Scot on four-over. After a bogey-free 70 in round three, Ferguson put the tin lid on a good weekend with a 71 to finish on the fringes of the top-20 in just his second major start.
“I was praying I would make the cut as it gave me such a spring in my step,” said the recently crowned BMW International Open champion.
“To get over that first hurdle of making a cut in a major was great. I felt like I could have finished in the top-10 and that’s what I was going for out there. I’m proud of myself.”
There was a bit of a lefty love-in on the final day as Robert MacIntyre got paired with his idol, Phil Mickelson.
When the final round groups were unveiled on Saturday, the Oban man put out a message on social media saying how much he was looking forward to playing with his “hero.”
MacIntyre beat him too by a couple of shots but a closing 74 for nine-over wasn’t the finish he was looking for. After the giddy highs of his Scottish Open win last Sunday, this week in Troon has been a more sobering affair.
“Physically I'm fine, but mentally I'm gone,” said MacIntyre, who racked up a double-bogey on the 16th but signed off with a cap-doffing birdie on the last.
“This week has just gone straight in the bin. Being brutally honest, it was terrible. Last week is the one that we'll reflect on because there's no real point in reflecting on this one when it's been absolute carnage from start to finish.
“But it was great to play with an idol. If it wasn't watching my dad play golf, it was watching Phil Mickelson play golf, and it was cool to walk the fairways with him.”
Old Phil enjoyed it too. “I saw his tweet on Saturday night and it was very flattering,” cooed Mickelson. “He’s really a nice person with a tremendous game and it’s going to be a joy for me to pull from him throughout his career.”
