Scots golf stars Open joy after Lee Westwood helps secure winning places at Royal Portrush

Daily Record

4 days ago

Tartan duo Connor Graham and Daniel Young are heading to 153rd Championship
Scots amateur Connor Graham reckons starring with Lee Westwood helped him seal a special moment and make The Open.
And fellow tartan star Daniel Young insists it's a big step in his career to get a tee-time at the 153rd Championship after chasing the English star home.
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LIV star Westwood won the Dundonald qualifier, but there was delight for two home stars as they also booked tickets to join compatriots Bob MacIntyre and Cameron Adam at Royal Portrush.
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Graham came through a dramatic play-off against countryman Paul O'Hara with a birdie on the first hole of the shootout sealing the deal. The 18-year-old played alongside Westwood and fellow Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson during the regulation 36-holes and believes coping with that scenario was a big boost when it came to the crunch in extra-time
The teenager said: 'It feels pretty good and I am delighted. It was pretty nervy in the play-off but, thankfully, I got the job done. There were big crowds following us and I managed to deal with the pressure I was under pretty good and that definitely helped me in the play-off.
"To be able to get into an event like The Open and be able to compete there would definitely be a big step in my career. Getting there will be very special.'
As Graham and O'Hara scrapped, Young was safely planning his trip to Portrush as he surged through finishing just a shot behind Westwood at six-under.
"The 33-year-old Perthshire native took splendid recent form on the Hotel Planner Tour into the Ayrshire test and came through with flying colours.
Young said: 'I played so, so good and just struggled on the greens all day to be fair. They were a bit slower, a bit seedy. I just couldn't struggle to get the ball in the hole.
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"But my long game was probably as good as it's been. I've driven it great all year, but yeah, it was very good.
'It sounds great [going to Portrush]. I'm looking forward to it now. It'll be a nice couple of weeks in the lead-up to it now.
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'I've been playing great the last month. I finally had a nice result to back it up and then followed it up last week with another good week.
"And obviously, I came close [to qualifying] last year. I've played well around here before, so I feel quite comfortable on the golf course.
'I know the scoring never gets probably as low as people might think.
"It's a tricky enough course and they set up a few tricky enough pins, so you've just got to be pretty patient like I was this morning when I didn't probably have my best stuff. And then I strung together just a lovely round this afternoon.
'Everybody's grinding. You can see probably the relief and the disappointment off people's faces at every event, every week. But yes, it's a big, big step in my career.
|I've got a big second half of the year coming up and, hopefully, I'll start with a good week at Portrush.'