Calum Scott’s stunning Amateur Championship run came to an end this morning when he lost a competitive quarter-final against James Ashfield on his home course at Nairn.
The 17-year-old has been in sparkling form all week, seeing off a range of rated rivals to compete on the penultimate day of the Championships.
It was all to play for this Friday, with the last eight this morning booking their places in the afternoon’s semi-finals.
It's quarter and semi-final day at #TheAmateur 😍
Follow all the action with live scoring here 👉 https://t.co/DJ0IzkUhUb pic.twitter.com/igKipJLZF3
— The R&A (@RandA) June 18, 2021
Home favourite Scott, 17, has had the spotlight firmly fixed on him and he delighted fans with two dramatic 19th hole wins yesterday against Hlynur Bergsson (Iceland) and Harley Smith (The Rayleigh Club).
Scott almost aced early on
He was in the second match today, teeing off at 8.30am against Welshman Ashfield, the 2019 Scottish Boys’ Amateur champion.
A near ace on the fourth hole sees Calum Scott take the lead in his Quarter Final match in The Amateur Championship.
Follow all the day's action by clicking the link below.
Live scores ➡️ https://t.co/r7yKpRKhYJ pic.twitter.com/eKdTu9ijdn
— The Nairn Golf Club (@NairnGolfClub) June 18, 2021
There was drama in hole four which the home golfer almost aced and he took an early one-hole lead.
That sparked a reaction from his opponent and, by hole eight, Ashfield had turned the tide and was two up.
Scott scored a birdie at the 10th to reduce the deficit to one, raising hopes of another back nine comeback as he achieved yesterday.
By the 12th hole, it was all square once more, but Ashfield nudged in front again at this stage and by the 16th hole, Scott was two down.
Ashfield saw it out in the end, winning 2&1, and it ended a brilliant five days of golf from the north teenager.
Journey over too for early starter Paterson
John Paterson (New Club St Andrews) was first up today, at 8.15am, taking on England’s Monty Scowsill.
The Woodbridge entrant was two up before 9am but Paterson pulled one back soon after.
Paterson, who has been studying at Colorado University, was chasing all the way but ended on the wrong end of a 3&2 defeat.
He can take a lot of satisfaction, however, for performing so consistently well.
English contenders emerge from semi-finals
There were also two all-English quarter-finals taking place this morning.
Walker Cup player and a consistent performer here in Nairn this week, Jack Dyer (Boyce Hill), thanks to a powerful start, was a 5&3 winner over Olly Huggins (Frilford Heath).
Laird Shepherd (Rye) was up against it early on, but battled back to defeat Sam Bairstow (Hallowes) by one hole, winning it dramatically on the last hole.
The semi-finals started from 1pm and they were both close contests.
Ashfield was stopped in his tracks as Scowsill posted a fine two-hole victory and Shepherd went the distance before winning by one hole against Dyer.
The stage is set 🙌
Monty Scowsill 🆚 Laird Shepherd
📅 June 19, 2021
⏰ 8.30
📍 Nairn Golf Club
🏆 The Amateur Championship📺 You will be able to watch all the action live on the @RandA's Facebook page or YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/7BjQuoxw9r
— The Nairn Golf Club (@NairnGolfClub) June 18, 2021
Tomorrow’s champion will not only land a place on a European Tour event and pick up the silverware.
He will also receive full exemptions to The Open Championship, the US Open and the Masters Tournament.
Saturday’s 36-hole final starts at 8.30am and will be live on the R&A’s Facebook and YouTube channels as well as on RandA.org
.@mjscowsill is our first semi-finalist at #TheAmateur 🏌️
He beat John Paterson 3&2 👏 pic.twitter.com/w3poqzfgpV
— The R&A (@RandA) June 18, 2021