British Amateur
Craig Watson's dream of becoming the first player in two decades to successfully defend the Amateur Championship was blown away at windswept Gullane yesterday.
The East Renfrewshire player had to improve dramatically from his opening 76 at Muirfield on Monday but could not rise to the task on the adjacent East Lothian links, his 74 seeing him comfortably miss the cut for today's match-play stage.
Yet, it all looked so good for the Walker Cup player when he stood on the fourteenth tee at Gullane one under par for his round. But the inconsistency which has crept into his game since the turn of the year resurfaced once more.
A bogey at the fourteenth was followed by another at the seventeenth before a disastrous double-bogey 6 at the 385-yard eighteenth where he three-putted consigned him to the also rans.
Watson's Walker Cup team-mate, Graham Rankin, survived the Arctic endurance test that masqueraded as the second qualifying round to jointly lead the 12-strong Scottish contingent into today's match-play stage.
Rankin, playing from his new club attachment of Drumpellier, defied the bitter cold to post a highly creditable one-over-par 72 for a two-round aggregate of two-over-par 144 to share the limelight with Cowglen's Mark Loftus.
It put him seven behind leading qualifier Mark Hilton, of East Sussex National, but that mattered little to the big-hitting man from Renfrewshire.
''It doesn't matter whether you finish first in the qualifying or last, the important thing is that you are in that draw on Wednesday morning - that's all we came here for,'' Rankin said.
Hilton carded a 71 at Muirfield to lead the way on 137 by one stroke from Irishman Bryan Omelia, with Australian Geoff Ogilvy a shot further adrift on 139.
Other Scots to qualify were Simon Mackenzie, Mike Thomson, Craig Elliot, Andrew Farmer, Lorne Kelly, James Bunch, Paul McKechnie, Wilson Bryson, Ewan Wilson, and Tommy Cochrane. Qualifiers:
137 - M Hilton (East Sussex National) 66, 71. 138 - B Omelia (Newlands) 69, 69. 139 - G Ogilvy (Australia) 72, 67. 141 - S Garcia (Spain) 69, 72; M Harris (Ham Moor) 67, 74; R Vera (Spain) 72, 69; B Mason (Sand Moor) 70, 71. 142 - G Havret (France) 70, 72; P Hansson (Sweden) 70, 72; J Rose (North Hants) 74, 68. 143 - E Gibstein (USA) 68, 75; J Olver (S Africa) 71, 72; K Ferrie (Alnmouth) 71, 72.
144 - P Rowe (West Cornwall) 70, 74; S Dyson (Sand Moor) 69, 75; S Wittkop (Germany) 72, 72; G Rankin (Drumpellier) 72, 72; J Fanagan (Milltown) 69, 75; U Kaltenberger (Australia) 75, 69; M Loftus (Cowglen) 70, 74. 145 - O David (France) 68, 77; S Mackenzie (West Linton) 73, 72; R Haag (USA) 74, 71; J Herbert (Hinckley) 72, 73; M Thomson (Torwoodlee) 75, 70; S Davis (Kedleston Park) 73, 72; C Ravetto (France) 73, 72.
146 - S McCarthy (Royal North Devon) 70, 76; J Wahlstedt (Sweden) 73, 73; C Elliot (Ratho Park) 71, 75; A Farmer (Kilmacolm) 73, 73; L Storm (Denmark) 69, 77; R Quiros (Spain) 72, 74; L Cederqvist (Sweden) 74, 72; S Williams (Clays Farm) 69, 77; A Wainwright (Garforth) 72, 74; R Hoit (USA) 69, 77; T Dier (Germany) 70, 76; R Gillot (France) 73, 73.
147 - T Immelman (S Africa) 72, 75; R Gerwin (USA) 73, 74; C Rodgers (Royal Mid Surrey) 70, 77; C Williams (Creigiau) 70, 77; K Wallbank (Fairhaven) 73, 74; I Goroneskoul (France) 75, 72; M Illonen (Finland) 72, 75; R Fenwick (Bognor Regis) 69, 78; N Pimm (Surbiton) 72, 75; A Grenier (France) 73, 74; U Van Der Berg (S Africa) 74, 73; G Maly (Porters Park) 75, 72; M Side (Shirley Park) 72, 75; L Kelly (Cowal) 74, 73.
148 - W Bryson (Drumpellier) 73, 75; E Wilson (Forfar) 72, 76; D Yates (Forfar) 75, 73; M King (Toft Hotel) 74, 74; J Bunch (St Andrews New) 73, 75; R Oosthuizen (S Africa) 75, 73; P McKechnie (Hayston) 74, 74; S Branger (France) 74, 74; G Storm (Wynyard) 71, 77; J Powell (Hinckley) 73, 75; T Cochrane (Dunnikier Park) 71, 77; S Sheehan (USA) 74, 74.
Non-qualifiers included: 149 - A Thomson 76, 73; G Fox 74, 75. 150 - S Carmichael 72, 78; C Watson 76, 74; J Sharp 74, 76; R Beames 76, 74; D Patrick 74, 76. 152 - E Forbes 76, 76; I Campbell 71, 81; A White 77, 75. 153 - S Loughrey 73, 80; C Dunan 78, 75; C Mitchell 77, 76; S Smith 76, 77; G Crawford 75, 78; J Noon 79, 74; G Campbell 78, 75. 154 - M Donaldson 79, 75; R Jenkins 76, 78; G Thomson 77, 77.
155 - G Lowson 80, 75; J Mathers 74, 81; O Lindsay 75, 80; S Carruthers 74, 81; J MacDougall 72, 83; James Finnegan 72, 83; F McLaughlan 76, 79; J Yuille 76, 79; B Hume. 157 - K Law 80, 77; John Finnegan 78, 79. 158 - K Wright 72, 86; S Walker 76, 82. 159 - D Ewen 80, 79. 160 - G Lawrie 73, 87; J Clive 80, 80. 161 - E Moir 81, 80; G Gordon 81, 80; A Gold 81, 80. 165 - P Jamieson 81, 84. 166 - S Horne 82, 84. 167 - G Thomson 86, 81. 171 - C Gilbert 83, 88. 172 - R McKerron 89, 83.
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