Amateurs on fire at The Open
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The amateurs are living it up and having a ball in the 1st round of The Open at St Andrews.
And if the opening round is any guide, there is going to be one heck of a scrap for the Silver Medal awarded to the top amateur performer.
A band of aspiring young pros who one day dream of battling it out with McIlroy, Spieth and co. had a day to remember at the Home of Golf and clearly they hope for many more to come, including three more after today!
Former Tranmere Rovers FC trainee Paul Kinnear (pictured) was having a day to cherish and was a sensational -6 before entering the Old Course’s testing final stretch of holes.
Hopefully he will keep his cool, composure and, most importantly, nerve as he goes into the most critical few holes of his promising career.
And at least he’ll be cheered on by his parents who had already booked to attend The Open, staying at a local campsite even before they knew their son had qualified!
American amateur Jordan Niebrugge also clicked into top gear after firing a 1st round 67 and clearly loved and revelled in every minute and moment. “You can feel the history here, going over the bridge at 18. It’s a great experience and seeing fellow Jordan (Speith) on a great run gives us college players a lot of confidence.”
What a showing too by Ireland’s 22-years-old Paul Dunne (-3, 69), the sole amateur to come through final qualifying at Woburn.
Dunne missed the cut at Hoylake last year but seems to have learnt his lesson and gained from the experience, saying: “ There is a sense of history at St Andrews of course but when you get out onto the course, it’s like any other course and you’re just trying to get the ball into the hole.”
Fingers firmly crossed, that the young guns – the stars of tomorrow – will continue to do just that in the days to come…
