Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Scott building on Open experience
CALUM Scott returns to action in this week’s US Amateur Championship after resetting in Nairn following last month’s Open success.
Scott enjoyed a memorable major debut at Royal Troon, claiming the silver medal as the leading amateur with an eightover-par aggregate over four rounds.
Since the conclusion of the tournament on July 21, Scott has enjoyed some downtime surrounded by family and friends at home.
He was part of the prizegiving ceremony for Nairn Golf Club’s five-day open, and also caught up with his former coach Spencer Henderson at the Home Internationals last week.
Scott has been at Texas Tech University for the last three years, but insists his home town is never far from his mind.
The 20-year-old says the opportunity for him to share in his recent success with familiar faces in a home environment has been hugely beneficial, ahead of him returning to competitive action at Hazeltine this week.
Scott said: “I had some time off to reset. It was a case of going back to Nairn, doing some practice and chilling out.
“I managed to get back and play at Nairn a few times. Nairn had the five-day tournament and I was there for the prize-giving.
“That was a really cool welcome I had there. I have just been chilling with friends and family, and sharing in my success with them.
“I caught up with a lot of old members that I hadn’t seen in a while.
“I always love coming back to Nairn. Every time I leave, I miss it after a while.
“But I always enjoy my time back there, and love playing 18 holes or even just nine holes at the Cameron Course – whether it’s with friends or just mucking about by myself.
“It’s always fun going back.” Scott is playing in the US Amateur for the second-successive year, having finished tied 17th in the event 12 months ago.
In the two opening rounds, in which he is partnered with South African Christiaan Maas and American Brendan Valdes, Scott will be aiming to secure a spot in the match play section, which begins with the round of 64 tomorrow.
He added: “I’m very excited to be playing the US Amateur.
“It’s a great tournament, one of the better amateur events we have.
“After taking some time off I’m raring to go. I played last year and made the matchplay.
“I’m excited to see how it goes. This is my first time playing Hazeltine, and I’ve never even been in the state of Minnesota before.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about the course. I’m excited to play another American course – the last few months has mainly been links golf, or links parkland, so it’s nice to be back and playing American golf courses.
“I’ve become a lot better at the adapting part. With it being three years now, I can at least know what to do when I go back, in dealing with different grasses and elevation.
“It feels a lot easier than it did to begin with.”