One for the home crowd: Crail's Burns wins Scottish Amateur
George Burns (Scottish Golf/Twitter photo)
It was a day to remember for George Burns as he was crowned Scottish Amateur champion on his home course at Crail Golfing Society. Burns, who defeated Lewis Irvine on the 19th hole in Saturday afternoon’s final, became the first player to win the men’s amateur title at his home club since Jim Milligan defeated Andrew Coltart at Kilmarnock Barassie in 1988.
Playing their eighth competitive round of the week, there was no sign of fatigue from Burns or Irvine who both came through their Semi Final ties on Saturday morning. Burns, who defeated Darren Howie in the semifinal, opened his final campaign with birdies on the first three holes of Crail’s Craighead Links, scoring which was matched by Irvine who reached the final with a win on the 20th hole over Matthew Clark.
The hot start from both finalists would set the tone for the rest of the match, which saw a total of 14 birdies, 18 pars and just four bogeys shared between both golfers.
Speaking to Scottish Golf after being crowned champion, Burns commented on the outstanding level of golf played in the final saying, “We both got off to a flying start, it was just some really free-flowing golf between the pair of us. It is not often that you get a match like that where both guys are going at it and playing exceptionally well, it was great that we were both able to peak for the Final, especially after playing so much golf this week. Lewis put up a great fight and made it the Final this week has deserved so all credit to him for that.”
On being crowned 2019 Scottish Men’s Amateur Champion, Burns added, “Hearing people say I am the Scottish Men’s Amateur Champion sounds really nice; I could definitely get used to that. I knew that I was playing well so it was important that I kept my head down and keep fighting which fortunately was enough to be the winner.”
Reflecting on the week at Crail Golfing Society, Burns admits it has been a special week saying, “This week has been superb from start to finish. The staff here at Crail have been so supportive of me and have allowed me to work on my game here for the last year as a member. It’s special to get the win here in such a prestigious event and also to know that the hard work and continuous hours of practice have allowed me to prove to myself that it was worth it, I am really pleased.”
ABOUT THE
Scottish Amateur Championship
The Scottish Amateur Championship began in
1922 and has witnessed many famous victors,
including legendary amateurs Ronnnie Shade
and Charlie Green as well as some of the stars
of the modern game, Colin Montgomerie and
Stephen Gallacher.
Entry to the Championship is open to any male
golfer who was either born in Scotland, has
Scottish parentage, permanent residency in
Scotland for not less than 5 years and has not
played international golf or competed in a
closed Championship for any other country
other than Scotland. The starting field shall be
256 and, in the event of an over-entry, the
number shall be reduced in order of exact
handicap. Each match shall consist of one
round of 18 holes except the final which will be
played over 36 holes.
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