Links golf has Scots players in a hole
SCOTLAND has produced some of the finest links players in the history of golf, stretching back to the days of Old Tom Morris. Yet, that once-great strength may have become a weakness in the development of the modern-day players seeking to make the often difficult transition from amateur to professional status. Having recently accepted his membership for next season, 30-year-old Russell Knox will be the youngest Scottish player on the European Tour, following the collective failure of any of his compatriots to progress from the Final Qualifying School last week. Finding precise reasons for the apparent decline in standards at the Home of Golf is not easy. But one man who will join Knox on the circuit next year, 36-year-old Andrew McArthur from Lanark, suspects that part of the answer may lie in the type of golf the top amateurs are accustomed to playing. McArthur, who has won full playing rights for the first time in his career, said: ‘Some would argue that playing most big amateur events on links courses in Scotland is actually a huge negative. ‘You only have a handful of links tournaments on the European Tour. Other than that, it’s about hitting the ball high and stopping it quickly on the greens. ‘So for all these guys who are excelling on the amateur circuit, winning the Lytham Trophy or the St Andrews Links, it’s not preparation for life on tour. ‘It might be that too much low ball-striking on links courses is hindering guys from making the transition successfully. But it seems too obvious for that to be the only reason. ‘My coach Ian Rae fully believes that Scottish Golf is doing the right things. But, for whatever reason, despite there being plenty of players behind Scott Jamieson and Russell Knox with potential, they don’t seem to be getting players on to the tour. ‘I don’t know what the missing link is. Some of the guys have had great funding and done nothing, but a lot of them are young with a chance still to make it. ‘Others probably didn’t have any funding and ran out of cash and there’s just nothing you can do when that happens.’