CRAIG Watson has a score to settle with the course at Muirfield next week when he defends his Amateur Championship crown.

Only once has he played a competitive round over the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers - and it was an 11-over-par 83 in this same competition in 1990. ''I saw quite a few bits of the course which I will be happy to avoid,'' he said.

There is reason to be hopeful as he basks in the glory of his weekend victory in the St Andrews Links Trophy with an 11-under-par aggregate of 276, which involved holding the record for the New Course for all of 20 minutes.

He said: ''It was the perfect weather that brought my game on. I had been struggling off the tee and with the long irons, but it was a flat calm. I was driving well to leave myself playing in short irons - and my putting and short game have been good all year. That gives me a bit of confidence for next week.''

Not least was his record eight-under-par 63, which equalled the score set by Australian Graham Ogilvy earlier in the day. The card was barely signed, though, before Icelander Orn Hjartarson played the back nine in 28 for a 60, having missed a closing 12-footer for a 59.

While Hjartarson disappeared from the spotlight as quickly as he had arrived, Watson went on to equal Graham Rankin's tournament record, despite three-putting twice over the last three holes.

The 32-year-old East Renfrewshire club member is hoping to make it to the matchplay stage at Muirfield more comfortably than last time at Royal St George's, where rounds of 79 and 77 took him through with nothing to spare.

Thereafter, of course, he went all the way to the win which earned him dream starts in the Loch Lomond Invitational, Open Championship, and US Masters.

Watson is in no doubt about the secret of success - and that is holing putts. He said: ''Qualifying is the first hurdle and after that if you putt well you can beat anybody. You can hit the ball sideways up to the green and if you then prevent your opponent from winning the hole it can get to him.''

In the meantime, he is keeping open his option of having a go at professional golf.

''I will see at the end of the year. The Masters (during which he played alongside former champions Sandy Lyle and Arnold Palmer) was a great experience, but nothing on which I could make a judgment. If I am playing with the same confidence as last weekend I might decide to give it a try.''

Retaining his amateur title would open the door again to Augusta next April, provided he remained an amateur. But that would be getting too far ahead of himself and it is not a prospect he will currently consider.

There is, after all, a record field of 534 players representing 26 countries and he will begin his defence at 1.50pm on Monday in the company of Swede Markus Blomquist and Englishman Karl Wallbank, with a round to follow the next day over Gullane No.1.

There has not been a successful defence of the title since Peter McEvoy in 1978.

A more immediate prospect is the international against Spain tomorrow and Friday at Glasgow Gailes and a possible selection to the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the Continent of Europe later in the year.

Watson's victory at St Andrews completed a great double for the East Renfrewshire club, whose assistant professional, David Orr, last week won the Scottish Assistants' championship at Balbirnie Park.