BRITISH BOYS' CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

NORWEGIAN THORP IS THE ONE THEY ALL HAVE
TO BEAT AT BALGOWNIE THIS WEEK

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Let’s not get carried away with Scotland’s capture of the boys’ home internationals title at Lossiemouth last week for the first time in 11 years. It does not follow that one of the triumphant Scottish team will win this week’s British boys’ open amateur championship after six days’ match-play over the Royal Aberdeen links at Balgownie.
Hot favourite is not Jordan Findlay, the Fraserburgh lad who has risen to the occasion to reach the last two finals (won one, lost one), nor Lewis Kirton (Newmachar) or James Byrne (Banchory), our top boys with 5 1/2pt each out of six as Scotland won the boys’ home international title at Lossiemouth next week.
No, the outstanding player in the field of 256 from United States in the West to Thailand in the East is an 18-year-old Norwegian, Marius Thorp.
Don’t take my word for it, listen to five times Open champion Tom Watson who played with Marius in last month’s Open at Hoylake.
“Marius has the ability to be a great player. He is fearless with a putter – I remember those days,” said Tom.
Master Thorp, less than a month after his 18th birthday, won the silver medal as leading amateur in the Open with a level par aggregate. He is almost certainly a European Tour professional star in the making, with the potential to be as good if not better than Sergio Garcia, who was the Spanish wonder boy when he was 18.
Last year, Marius won the European men’s amateur individual championship. This year, Thorp has spearheaded Norway to victories in the world boys’ team championship in Japan – where he was the leading individual player over 72 holes – and the European boys’ team championship in which Norway beat Scotland 5-2 in the final.
Thorp, who has his own website, could have his pick of the top American colleges but he wants to go straight to the pro ranks, hopefully playing on the European Tour next year if he gets through the Tour School process later this year.
Lewis Kirton, who leaves shortly on a four-year golf scholarship at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, got a square game with Thorp in the No 1 singles tie of the recent European boys’ team championship in Sweden.
Lewis, for one, will not be overawed should their paths cross again at Balgownie this week.
“I’m sure that on paper Marius Thorp is the favourite, but it’s match-play and anything can happen. He has shown that he is a top-class player but there are many others that can challenge for the British boys’ title this week,” said Kirton over the weekend.
Scottish boys’ match-play champion James White (Lundin) was Scotland’s third most successful competitor behind Kirton and Byrne last week. He finished up with 5pt out of 6 (four wins and two halves) and is obviously back to his early-season form.
And Thorp is not the only Continental with a winning chance. Apart from the Norwegian, five members of the Continental team for the annual Jacques Leglise Trophy boys’ match against GB&I, are in the field.
Overlooked by the Continental selectors for that team but definitely one to keep an eye on at Balgownie - Francisco Pintor, a 16-year-old from Alicante, who won the Scottish youths championship at Mortonhall earlier this summer.