CALLUM Macaulay emerged inspired from a rain delay at Carnoustie yesterday to surge to victory in the 36-hole final of the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur championship.
The 24-year-old from Tulliallan, who was the No.1 seed, underlined his billing as tournament favourite with a five and three win over Steven McEwan from the Caprington club in Kilmarnock.
Macaulay had made a disastrous start to the morning's firs
t round, slipping to bogeys on four of the opening five holes to fall four behind early on. By the end of the opening session, the match was back to all-square and Macaulay finally seized the advantage after six holes of the afternoon's round following a 30-minute suspension of play caused by a downpour.
Trailing by one at that point, last year's SGU order of merit winner resumed in purposeful fashion, getting a birdie at the 25th to restore parity. He moved ahead for the first time with a par at the 27th before covering the next three holes in one-under compared to McEwan's two-over to surge into a match-winning four hole lead.
"I couldn't get going but for some reason the rain delay seemed to helped me," said Macaulay. "I was struggling to get into a rhythm, particularly with long irons, but after the break I felt good. I hit a really nice shot and that was me off. To win this event has been one of my main goals. I knew I could achieve my aim and it's good to get my name on this trophy alongside some of the greats of Scottish golf."
The full article contains 282 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
