JACK'S LAD! SCOTTISH AMATEUR GOLFER OF THE YEAR
JACK McDONALD ... a superb season
SGU MEDIA RELEASE
SGU MEDIA RELEASE
Jack
McDonald has capped the most wonderful year of his young golfing life by being crowned the Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year for 2012.
The
Kilmarnock (Barassie) teenager has enjoyed a superb season, admitting
it’s been “storybook stuff”, to come out on top in the annual standings.
McDonald,
a maths student at the University of Stirling, follows in the spike
marks of previous recipients of the Amateur Golfer of the Year accolade,
including Dean Robertson, Steven O’Hara, Richie Ramsay, Callum Macaulay
and last year’s winner, Michael Stewart.
Graeme
Robertson from Glenbervie also enjoyed a fine season this year,
domestically and internationally, to finish runner-up in the standings
but it was McDonald who took the spoils as the leading Scot on the World
Amateur Golf Ranking at the cut-off point earlier this month.
“I
definitely look back on an awesome year,” he said. “I got a lot of
experience, not just the amateur events but professional events too.
It’s brilliant to now win this award.”
The
19-year-old, a former SGU National Boys’ Squad member, started his
season impressively by claiming the British Universities Men’s title
before finishing tied third at the Golf Data Lab Scottish Youths
Championship at Ladybank in May.
However,
it was at the British Amateur Championship at Royal Troon and Gailes Links in
June when his year really caught fire. Playing in front of home crowds
in Ayrshire, McDonald went on a glory run to the semi-finals, before his
hopes were ended by Austrian Matthias Schwab.
McDonald’s
still reaped rich reward, rocketing up the world rankings and gaining
an invite to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle
Stuart on The European Tour. In elite company, McDonald excelled to play
all four rounds – brilliantly chipping in on the 18th to make the cut – and played on the final day with Ernie Els, winner at The Open the following week.
McDonald
also earned a place in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles,
before his season ended on a high representing Scotland for the first
time in the Home Internationals at Gailes Links. Collecting
four-and-a-half points, McDonald was among the heroes as the Scots won
the annual four nations battle for the first time in six years.
“It’s
been quite a whirlwind,” said the 2009 Scottish Boys Stroke Play
champion. “I was playing really well at the beginning of the year and
things just kicked on from there, everything clicked.
“I
moved up around 360 places in the world rankings on the back of The
Amateur, it was crazy. The schedule I had changed completely as well,
like getting invited to play in the Scottish Open.
“Castle
Stuart was a bit surreal and it topped off the run I was having.
Getting drawn with Ernie, then he went on to win the next week – it was
kind of storybook stuff. I chipped in as well to make the cut, which
doesn’t happen too often.
“Gleneagles
was good too as we don’t play a lot of that sort of golf, a long
parkland course. We are used to the links, so it was good to learn what I
need to improve for that type of golf as well.”
McDonald,
who just missed out on selection to represent Scotland at the World
Amateur Team Championship in Turkey next month, will pick up his prize
at the glittering Scottish Golf Awards in 2013. Already, he is looking
to achieve more next year.
“I’ll
look to do the same things with Dean Robertson (High Performance Golf
Coach) at the University of Stirling and with the SGU. Hopefully I can
have an even better season next year,” he added.
Final 2012 Scottish Amateur
Golfer of the Year Standings
Golfer of the Year Standings
Rank
|
WAGR
|
Player
|
Points average
|
1
|
116
|
969.32
| |
2
|
120
|
967.61
| |
3
|
143
|
946.43
| |
4
|
164
|
930.48
| |
5
|
165
|
930.00
| |
6
|
180
|
918.03
| |
7
|
241
|
878.00
| |
8
|
314
|
846.38
| |
9
|
374
|
826.56
| |
10
|
400
|
819.30
|
Ed Hodge
SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
PR and Media Executive
Direct Line: 01334 466483
|
Labels: SGU
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