29th May 2022

23 year old Charlie THORNTON (ENG) won the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Cruden Bay G.C. with a total of 278 (-2).

Thornton is the tenth Englishman to win the title and third in consecutive stagings following in the footsteps of Jake Bolton in 2019 and Callan Barrow in 2021.

Charlie Thornton (Photo: Thornton Family)

Round 4

Charlie THORNTON (ENG) overturned a 3-shot deficit with a superb bogey-free final round of 66 to secure the biggest win of his amateur career. He finished on 278 (-2).

Charlie Thornton’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

John GOUGH (ENG), who finished on 279 (-1), did little wrong in defending his lead this afternoon but an even par round of 70 ultimately came up one shot short against the fast finishing Yorkshireman Thornton.

The par 3 15th where there was a 2-shot swing proved to be the decisive hole in the final round. Thornton birdied whilst Gough bogeyed.

The two Englishmen were the only players in the starting field of 144 to break par.

Ireland’s Hugh FOLEY (+4) finished 3rd after final day rounds of 71 and 68 with Scotland’s Ben MURRAY (+4) 4th on countback.

David LUNDGREN (SWE) came through the field in Round 4 to finish 5th on +5 with a best of the week 65 which included six birdies.

David Lundgren’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Andrew DAVIDSON (+7) 7th, John PATERSON (+7) 8th and Rory FRANSSEN (+8) 10th all finished strongly to make it four Scots in the top 10 of their national Championship.

Round 4 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Click here to view the – 2022 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Live Scores

ME.

__________________________________________

Round 3

John GOUGH (ENG) produced a sparkling 67 (-3) to take control of the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Cruden Bay G.C. Three consecutive birdies and a second eagle on the short par 4 8th provided the foundation for his round, the joint best of the week.

Having played in the penultimate group Gough will have finished his lunch no doubt a little surprised to find himself with a 3-shot lead on 209 (-1).

John Gough’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

The three overnight leaders Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO), Tyler DUNCAN (AUS) and Casey JARVIS (RSA) all had disastrous Round 3’s appearing to drag each other down with unusually high scores and presumably some slow play.

Muckherjee got on the bogey train on the back nine as six bogeys saw him fall to a damaging 77.

Tyler Duncan recorded a six over 11 on the par 5 6th as he went on to post an 80.

The biggest surprise was Jarvis’s 79 and apparent capitulation around the turn. An eight on the 9th followed by a six on 10 and a seven on 12 saw the South African star lose an amazing nine shots in just three holes.

Charlie THORNTON (ENG) finished with two birdies in his final four holes for a battling 72 to move into 2nd place on 212 (+2).

Ben MURRAY (SCO) got himself into a nice position before bogeys on his final two holes saw him slip to 71. His 214 (+4) total will see him start the final round in 4th place.

John PATERSON (SCO) 72 and Mason ESSAM (ENG) 73 will start Round 4 tied 4th with Casey Jarvis on 215 (+5).

Round 3 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

ME.

__________________________________________

28th May 2022

Round 2

Casey JARVIS (RSA) produced a second consecutive 68 which, as on Day 1, included birdies on the par 4 2nd, 8th and 12th holes.

As a serial winner in South Africa Jarvis can’t be expected to reverse into the field on the final day. Someone is probably going to have to come and take the title away from him over the final 36 holes which won’t be easy given the high winds that has generally made scoring difficult to date.

Casey Jarvis’ Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Jarvis will take a 4-shot lead over Tyler DUNCAN (AUS), round 1 co-leader Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO) and Charlie THORNTON (ENG) into Sunday.

The unheralded Duncan seems to be taking a liking to Cruden Bay shooting a very tidy 68 which only included one bogey on the short 11th.

Muckherjee delivered three consecutive birdies on the 6th-8th holes to get into position before falling away on the back nine with a 4-over 38. A double bogey on the 17th being particularly painful in the context of a potential run at the Championship tomorrow.

Thornton’s 69 moved him into tied 2nd place. The experienced Yorkshireman often sees through good positions so it will be interesting to see where he finishes.

In form John GOUGH (ENG) joined Mason ESSAM (ENG) in tied 5th place on -2. Gough was one of a number of players who recorded an eagle 2 on the 250 yard par 4 8th hole.

Day 2 saw good bounce backs from Harry LORD (ENG) 77-68, Jasper STUBBS (AUS) 79-67 and Kyle DE BEER (RSA) 78-71 to all make the cut.

Stubbs’ 3-under 67 was the best round of the Championship so far. When he got to 6-under after ten holes a really low one seemed possible but ultimately it wasn’t to be.

Jasper Stubbs’ Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

At the close of play 43 players made the leading 40 players plus ties cut which fell at 149 (+9).

Three pre-qualifiers made it through to the final day, namely Liam DUNCAN (SCO), Harry CARRUTHERS (SCO) and Freddie MACARTHUR (ENG).

Round 2 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

ME.

__________________________________________

27th May 2022

Round 1

Casey JARVIS (RSA), Ben MURRAY (SCO) and Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO) share the Round 1 lead in the Scottish Men’s Open Championship after shooting 2-under 68’s around Cruden Bay G.C.

After his relatively disappointing performance in last week’s Brabazon Trophy it is no surprise to see Jarvis make a good start in Scotland. After watching his South African teammate Christiaan Maas win at Saunton he will have been motivated to bounce back quickly.

The three leaders were the only players to break par in the field of 144 competitors. The morning starters had the worse of the conditions with the weather calming down a little this afternoon.

Casey Jarvis teed off at 12 noon and got off to a dream start with two opening birdies.

Casey Jarvis’ Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Ben Murray teed off in the group behind Jarvis at 12.10pm and matched the South African’s four birdies in his round.

Ben Murray’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Young Oliver Muckherjee was in the penultimate group which teed off at 3.10pm. His round came alive on the back nine with four birdies in five holes.

Oliver Muckherjee’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Gregor TAIT (SCO), who having been in the opening three ball at 7.00am was very much the exception to the rule with his score, and Scott CRICHTON (SCO) (11.20am) are tied second after recording 70’s (Ev).

Round 1 Top 20 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

ME.

__________________________________________

24th May 2022

The 55th Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship starts on Friday 27th May at Cruden Bay Golf Club in Aberdeenshire.

Format

This open amateur competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play.

18 holes will be played on both Friday 27th and Saturday 28th May.

A 36 hole cut will then take place with only the leading 40 competitors and ties qualifying for the final two rounds which will be played on Sunday 29th May.

In the event of a tie for the Championship there will be a sudden death play off. All other ties will be resolved via card count back.

Field

144 competitors will start the 2022 Championship.

The field will be made up of automatic entries based on WAGR and handicaps, of which there are 106 listed at the time of writing, and players that come through a Pre-Qualifying event (see below).

Being scheduled slightly later in May more International and U.S. college players are available which means a strong field will be at Cruden Bay.

There is a strong South African touring party which unfortunately for the rest of the field has been added to since last week’s Brabazon Trophy in Devon. Golf RSA’s benefactor Johann Rupert has a lot to answer for ! I again expect the winner to come from one of these players – Christiaan BURKE #19, Kyle DE BEER #24, Jordan DUMINY #84, Casey JARVIS #7, Christiaan MAAS #3, Aldrich POTGIETER #94, Yurav PREMLALL #21 and Sam SIMPSON #64. They all arrive with confidence on the back of successful full seasons back home and some of them will now be even better prepared after a week at Saunton.

There are a number of players from Australasia competing. Jack BUCHANAN (AUS) #172, Harrison CROWE (AUS) #70, James HYDES (NZL) #139, Andre LAUTEE (AUS) #231 and former Scottish Boys and Mens International Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) #103 are the best of them. Crowe is the most interesting – he arrives having won the Master of the Amateurs, New South Wales Amateur and Golf Challenge NSW Open, a professional event, already in 2022. McKinney is the reigning Australian Men’s Amateur champion and obviously links ready given his past visits to these shores.

From a GB&I perspective the leading entries are defending champion Callan BARROW (ENG) #293, Jack BROOKS (ENG) #163, Paul CONROY (IRL) #394 who has returned from U.S. college golf to play, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) #80, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) #146, Rory FRANSSEN (SCO) #114, reigning English Amateur, Spanish Amateur and Lytham Trophy champion John GOUGH (ENG) #35, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #203, in form Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #124 and Gregor TAIT (SCO) #385 who like Conroy is back home from the States.

James ASHFIELD (WAL) #297, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) #26, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #293, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) #208, Luke HARRIES (WAL) #304, Olly HUGGINS (ENG) #130, Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #281 (playing in the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge), Rob MORAN (IRL) #116, Liam NOLAN (IRL) #199 and Harley SMITH (ENG) #187 are the leading available GB&I players who are skipping this event presumably due to it’s remote location and / or pacing themselves for the busy summer ahead. It is 630 miles and an 11 hour drive from Saunton, where many players were last week, to Cruden Bay.

*The numbers quoted above are each player’s current Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR). The SPWAR is in my opinion a more accurate ranking than the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) which I largely ignore for player assessment.

Pre-Qualifying

Given the growing number of entries being seen Scottish Golf decided to stage an 18 hole Pre-Qualifying event this year rather than simply ballot out a large number of players via WAGR and handicap.

This took place at Fraserburgh Golf Club, which is located 27 miles further up the north east coast than Cruden Bay, on Tuesday 24th May. Fraserburgh is the 7th oldest golf club in the world and the competition will be played on their championship standard Corbiehill Links.

38 players from a field of 68 progressed to the main event with others added to the Championship’s Reserve List. Cormac SHARPE (SCO) won the event with a round of 67 (-3).

Click here to view the – Scottish Men’s Open Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

Cruden Bay Golf Club

Cruden Bay Golf Club is located on the east coast of Scotland 23 miles north of Aberdeen.

The original course, commissioned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company, was designed by Old Tom Morris and opened for play in 1899. In 1926 the course was redesigned to the current layout by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler.

Cruden Bay Scorecard (Photo: Cruden Bay G.C.)

As you can see above the Championship course plays to 6,609 yards and a par of 70. It has a par of 36 going out and a par of 34 coming home with the back nine unusually featuring three par 3’s.

Cruden Bay Course Flyover (Video: Cruden Bay G.C.)

Prizes

The Winner receives the distinctive Championship Trophy and a silver gilt medal.

Silver and bronze medals are also awarded to the runner-up and third place finisher(s).

Weather Forecast (last updated Thurs 26th May, 8.00am)

The current weather forecast suggests a mostly dry week but the winds look like they will be strong throughout the event so low scoring doesn’t seem very likely.

Fri 27th May – Light Showers / Wind 21 mph NW / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 12°C,
Sat 28th May – Cloudy /  Wind 25 mph NNW / Temp. Min. 9°C /Max. 10°C
Sun 29th May – Light Rain / Wind 30 mph NNW / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 9°C

2021 Results

Callan BARROW (ENG) shot rounds of 63, 67, 64 and 67 for a 261 (-15) total to win the 2021 Championship at Southerness Golf Club.

Callan Barrow (Photo: Scottish Golf)

James WILSON (ENG) finished 2nd on -12, Stuart EASTON (SCO), who had taken a 1-shot lead into the final day, came in 3rd on -7 and Lewis IRVINE (SCO) and Haider HUSSAIN (ENG) tied 4th on -6.

44 players made the 36 hole cut on Saturday evening which fell at 140 (+2)

Final Results (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Click here to view the full – 2021 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Results

Past Winners

The Scottish Men’s Open Amateur was first contested in 1967 and has an impressive list of past winners. Here are some of them: –

2011 – Andy Sullivan (ENG)
2009 – Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
2004 – Richie Ramsay (SCO)
2003 – Gary Wolstenholme (ENG)
1997 – Barclay Howard (SCO)
1996 – Alastair Forsyth (SCO)
1995 – Stephen Gallacher (SCO)
1992 – Dean Robertson (SCO)
1991 – Andrew Coltart (SCO)
1985 – Colin Montgomerie (SCO)
1981 – Philip Walton (IRE)
1980 – Gordon Brand Jr (ENG)
1975 and 1984 – Charlie Green (SCO)
1971, 1974 and 1979 – Ian Hutcheon (SCO)
1970 – Dale Hayes (RSA)
1968 – Ronnie Shade (SCO)
1967 – Bernard Gallacher (SCO)

A full list of the past winners can be viewed here – Scottish Open Amateur Winners

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2022, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.