Rivalry drives Connor to spot at the US amateurs

Drumoig’s Syme, along with fellow Scots Grant Forrest, Robert MacIntyre, Ewen Ferguson have all qualified to play in next month’s US Amateur Championship thanks to their World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) being inside the top 50.

Forrest, MacIntyre and Syme were all part of Scotland’s recent defence of the European Men’s Amateur team title, while the trio are also representing GB&I in this week’s St Andrews Trophy.

The local golfer says the game in Scotland couldn’t be in better shape, and that competition between the top amateurs has been a positive.

He said: “Top 50 was my target at the start of the year and reaching there has now helped me achieve goals in qualifying for the US Amateur and competing for GB&I in the St Andrews Trophy.

“The four of us are now in the top 30 in the world rankings so we’re all chasing each other’s tails and the competition is great. I’m looking forward to the US Amateur as I’ve never played competitively in America before and I know Oakland Hills is an amazing course.”

A total of 312 players from over 20 countries will contest the US Amateur, with three-time European Tour winner Richie Ramsay a past winner of the event in 2006 at Hazeltine.