2011 Walker Cup at Balgownie

is the target that will keep

David Law an amateur for now

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

New Scottish men's amateur champion David Law is bucking the recent trend of the title winners turning pro within a year or so.

Mind you, at 18 years of age, the Aberdonian has more time on his side than Callum Macaulay, John Gallagher, George Murray and Graham Gordon had at the end of their week of national amateur glory.

The GB&I selectors meet today to finalise their line-up for the Walker Cup match at Merion, United States in September. It's a 1000-1 against them naming Law, who was No 598 in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings at the start of the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur championship at Royal Troon.

Although one pundit did make the point that if an English teenager had just followed up victory in the English boys' title by winning the English men's amateur championship, he would go straight into the Walker Cup team.

Hazlehead Golf Club member Law, after his thrilling 38th hole win in the final over Colville Park's Paul O'Hara, 22, beaten at the Saturday showdown stage for a third time since 2004, can afford to be patient.

The 2011 Walker Cup match will be held over the Royal Aberdeen club's Balgownie links with which the Boy David has a certain affinity after winning the Scottish boys' match-play title there in April.

That is the biggest reason why Law is not talking about joining compatriots O'Hara, Gavin Dear and Keir McNicoll on the European Tour Qualifying School campaign later this season.

David felt he was a better player at the end of the week at Royal Troon than he was at the beginning - how's that for rapid improvement? - and, by the same token, a better player at Royal Troon than he was by the end of his Scottish boys' championship week at Royal Aberdeen.

The fact of the matter is that Law is at just the age when maturity starts to kick in and constant practice and exposure to better players in higher-level tournaments all go into the melting pot in the development of David who has the potential to become the best golfer ever to come out of Aberdeen and the North-east.

And that's not meant to downgrade in any way the standing of Richie Ramsay, who won the Irish and Scottish stroke-play titles before capturing the US amateur championship, nor 1999 Open champion and European Tour winner Paul Lawrie who never played in the Scottish boys' championship because his handicap wasn't low enough to get in and who never played in the Scottish amateur championship because he started his PGA training under Douglas Smart at Banchory in his teens.

Law has shown a great aptitude for match-play golf in winning the Scottish boys and Scottish men's championships. At the moment, David does not have quality performances in 72-hole men's stroke-play events on his CV. But that will surely come.

A full-time amateur since he left Aberdeen Grammar School last year, David Law says he will not accept any of the lucrative golf scholarship offers that are bound to come his way over the next few weeks from top American colleges.

"I've got a lot to learn yet but not by going back to get further education. I just don't fancy going to the United States," says David.

"I've got to keep working on my golf, particularly my short game which is not usually as good as it was in the final against Paul O'Hara.

"I'm going to remain a full-time amateur for at least the next two years ... and I need to get a winter job to get some money in to help pay my golf expenses."

Oh, and by the way, when Law defends the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur championship at Gullane next July, he won't mind a bit if the tournament is under the suggested new format - which England, Ireland and Wales have adopted - of two stroke-play qualifying rounds opening the week to produce 64 match-play qualifiers and, with it, a seeding process that reflects current form.

"I think it it's a good idea. The current all match-play format is obviously fun but I don't see why they should it to stroke-play with the top 64 going on to match-play," said David before setting off south for another big week of golf, although he will be back with his teenage peers in the boys home internationals at Hankley Common, Surrey.

STATS CHECK

*Three Aberdonians have won the Scottish men's amateur championship in the past 30 years ... Nigg Bay's Donald Jamieson (who beat Charlie Green in the 1980 final at Balgownie), Newmachar's Graham Gordon (beat Stewart Wilson in the 2003 final at The Duke's) and now David Law.

*David Law, at 18, is not the youngest ever winner of the Scottish men's amateur championship. Stephen Gallacher was only 17 when he beat David Kirkpatrick in the 1992 final and Sandy Stephen is believed to have been 17 when he beat Charlie Green in the men's amateur championship final of 1971.

Sandy Stephen had won the Scottish boys championship the previous year.

++The picture at the top of the article was provided by courtesy of Rob Eyton-Jones.