James Byrne with his Newburgh-on-Ythan course record 61 scorecard in the second round on his way to an eight-stroke victory in the 72-hole North-east District open amateur championship.
Picture by courtesy of The Press and Journal.
James Byrne has been telling Scottishgolfview.com how he achieved what has to be the amateur round of the year not just in the North-east but Scottish amateur golf as a whole.

How to score a 11-under-par 61 ... in
James Byrne's own words

By JAMES BYRNE
Obviously Saturday's 61 was an incredible round, but I still had a lot of work left on Sunday to win. I struggled in the morning but managed to close with a couple of birdies for a 75, and my lead was reduced to five shots.
I then began my final round by hitting my tee shot into thick grass which resulted in a lost ball and an opening double bogey. I recovered immediately with five birdies to see me three under par after 10.
I didn't drop a shot after the first, which was very satisfying. I made a safe par at the 18th with the comfort of an eightshot advantage. It's not easy to follow up a career round, but I am very pleased with the way I handled myself in tough, windy conditions on Sunday.
But you will probably want to know about the 61.
I began on the 10th hole and made a steady start, missing good birdie chances on 10, 14 and 15. Birdies at 13 and 16 took me to -2, with putts of 8 and 5 feet respectively. I reached the green of the par 5 18th in two and two-putted to reach the turn in -3.
My first decent putt came at the first hole, when a breaking 15 footer dropped for birdie. I safely parred the second, but hooked my tee shot on the par 5 third. I was lucky to find a decent lie and ran a four-iron up to around 10 feet which I converted for an eagle. 6 under par.
I stuck to my game plan on the short fourth hole and remained aggressive, hitting my driver over the wall, just inside the Out of Bounds to the left, and leaving myself with a pitch of around 40 yards to a pin rested above a tier.
I played a nice pitch shot which landed below the slope, chased to the top of the tier, and then cracked the pin and dropped for another eagle. Eight under par!
At this point I became aware of how low my score actually was and the opportunity that I had given myself to shoot a really low one. I hit a great low 4 iron to about 20 feet on the long par 3 fiftth, and barely missed my birdie putt.
The sixth is a short par 5, but not drivable due to a sloping green and a well placed bunker. The pin was tucked precariously above a slope and I hit a poor pitch that ran past the pin and down the hill to about 35 feet. I hit my lag putt to 5 inches to keep the momentum.
On the 7th I positioned my tee shot well with a 3 iron and hit a sand wedge to about 12 feet which I made for birdie to get to -9.
I was now in totally new territory but I did my best to remain calm and focused on the next hole. I again played safely with a 3 iron off the 8th tee, and hit an 8 iron to about 8 feet which I made to get to -10.
Standing on the tee of the par 5 9th, I knew I would make birdie. I hit a 3 iron from the tee and a 6 iron from the fairway pin high, 25 feet from the hole. I faced a putt for 60. It missed on the left and ran 4 feet past but I safely holed the return for a 61.
Do not think I am a player with nerves of steel. I can get very nervous sometimes, often in the simplest of situations. But instead of shying away which I often do, perhaps embarrassed by the nerves, I embraced the shaky symptoms and remained in a state of confidence, allowing me to go lower than I ever thought I could.
You mentioned my form over the summer.
I got back from Arizona two nights before the St Andrews Links Trophy, knowing that it would be my only chance to push for a spot in the European teams. In each of the three weeks previous to St Andrews, I had competed in three 72-hole tournaments around the United States - the PAC10 champs, NCAA regionals, and the NCAA national championship.
They had been tough, grinding weeks and I went to St Andrews probably in need of a long rest rather than intense summer of competition. I was a little jetlagged, and unaccustomed to the style of play required to play a course like that.
Excuses aside, I struggled on the slow greens but played steadily enough to finish 26th.
Not many people have actually seen me play this year but my ball-striking has seen significant improvements over the course of the last year and my short game is sharper.
In spite of six straight weeks of abhorrent weather conditions, I have made every cut in the stroke-play events I've played in, and lost at Carnoustie in the Scottish amateur match-play championship to an excellent Gordon Stevenson who produced one of the best putting rounds I've seen.
I was placed 11th at the Tennant Cup with a 8 4 5 finish to my second round in torrential rain, and a disappointing tied 14th at the Leven Gold Medal. I played in my first ever professional event in July and led after the first round.
Many people have criticised my form over the summer, but when I hear and read some of the comments I can only chuckle. I am a confident player and I don't let the opinions of others, good or bad, affect my mentality.
By the time you read this, I will be on my way back to Arizona State University tomorrow and I am looking forward to a year of fiercely competitive golf and continued improvement. I'm obviously pleased with my performance this weekend and it's great to finish on a high note, but I must now refocus my attention towards team qualifying which begins in two weeks time.
Best Regards,
James Byrne