Mexican disappointment was valuable experience

Connor, of Drumoig, was part of Scotland’s team in Mexico, with Grant Forrest and Robert MacIntyre. They led after day one but then faded, finally finishing in 11th place.

Back home on Tuesday night, Connor said: “It started off great – it couldn’t have been better. We were leading, but we just couldn’t quite keep it up.

“But that’s just golf – it can’t go well all the time.”

Australia “ran away with it” in the end, added Connor (21).

“Second place wasn’t out of the question but silly mistakes cost us, although none of us played badly.

“You can’t really afford to have an over-par day if you’re looking for a medal. That was our minimum target and we were disappointed to come home without one.

“It wasn’t meant to be. We all tried 100 per cent but it just didn’t click for us, although we thoroughly enjoyed the experience of getting away.”

Connor hopes still to make the Alfred Dunhill tournament in St Andrews next week as an amateur.

After a break, the Australian Amateur Champion will be heading back Down Under, where he has three tournaments lined up in November.

First is the amateur Federal Open, followed by two pro tournaments – the New South Wales Open and the Australian Open.