Tom Ward put his camera focus on a different view of Gavin Dear's swing which will be tested over the Royal Troon links this coming week.

Scottish amateur favourite Gavin Dear looking

forward to playing Royal Troon for first time

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Gavin Dear is, quite rightly, top seed for the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur championship which starts at Royal Troon Golf Club's Open championship links tomorrow.
The highest-ranked Scot in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings, Gavin Dear is entitled to feel confident but I am asked just how he was feeling about what will almost certainly be hist last Scottish amateur championship as he intends to turn professional in late September:

"I am fighting fit, and also playing very nicely. I had a long run of events from early May and finishing successfully with the European Team Champs and British Open Qualifying. I had a number of things I wanted to work on and bring into my game, some things that I had seen from playing with established players such as Kenny Ferrie.
"I feel as though I have done that, in the last couple of weeks, whilst getting some much needed rest. I have spent some time this week working with Liam Barn and Ian Rae just putting the finishing touches on my game.
"I had a charity day recently for Cancer Research in memory of three guys who died in a car crash earlier in the year, and am having a couple more games over this weekend to get back into the competitive mindset.
"I am really looking forward to the next few weeks, I've never played Royal Troon before but I have only heard good things and it will be great to get back to competitive golf."

CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDINGS
(with R&A WAGR in brackets)
1 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) (13).
2 Wallace Booth (Comrie) (109).
3 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) (89).
4 Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) (129).
5 James Byrne (Banchory) (105).
6 Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) (209).
7 Steven McEwan (Caprington) (277).
8 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) (430).

GAVIN DEAR IS NO 13 IN THE WORLD
- HIS HIGHEST RANKING YET

Gavin Dear, the one Scot who seems a certainty to be named in the GB&I team for the Walker Cup match in September, has reached his highest R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The 24-year-old from the Perthshire village of Scone, is No 13 in last week's list issued by R&A staffer David Moir, the man in charge of compiling the rankings from a weekly flow of results from amateur tournaments worldwide.
When he won the Craigmillar Park Open back in April, Dear said it was his ambition to gain a top 10 ranking in time to gain exemption from the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying School process.
Scots ranked in world's top 500 amateurs with their movement compared with last week's ranking (+ or -):
13 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) +2.
89 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) +1.
105 James Byrne (Banchory) +1.
109 Wallace Booth (Comrie) 0.
129 Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) -2.
189 Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) -7.
209 Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) -2.
277 Steven McEwan (Caprington) 0.
296 James White (Lundin) -6.
320 Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) -6.
339 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) -6.
421 Philip McLean (Peterhead) -5.
430 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) -4.
469 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) -9.
498 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) -7.

Scottishgolfview.com asked David Moir, the man behind the R&A WAGRs, how Gavin Dear could improve his ranking with his performance in the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur championship this coming week. Here is David's answer.

FROM DAVID MOIR:
Here is the guesstimate based on no other players moving at all and no WAGRanked 1 - 500 players withdrawing from the starting field for Royal Troon:
+If Gavin loses before last 8, he will remain at his provisional WAGR No 13.
+ If Gavin loses in last 8, he will rise to WAGR No 12.
+ If he loses in semis, he will rise to WAGR No 10.
+ If he loses in Final, he will rise to WAGR No 7.
+ If he wins, he will rise to WAGR No 4 or 5.

NO 5 SEED JAMES BYRNE SAYS:
"I have been playing better of late, and in short that is simply down to hard work both here and in the States. I have been driving the ball straighter thanks to a small adjustment in my swing early in the season, and my short game and putting is on a different level to what it was 12 months ago.
"I'm happy with my form and my goal for this year was always to push for a Walker Cup spot. Sadly, however, I feel my absence from this past week's South of England Open championship at Walton Heath now makes that an unlikely occurrence.
"I made phone calls but it was past the deadline and I'm devastated not to be playing.
"As for Royal Troon, I've crashed out in Round One of this championship the past two years, so here's hoping for a more successful run this coming week!"