Connor Graham comes through 'stressful' match in Amateur Championship
Leading qualifier wins at 21st hole after delay to his opening match in Kent
Blairgowrie’s Connor Graham, the leading qualifier for the second year in a row, survived a “stressful” opening contest in the match-play phase of the 130th Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s in Kent.
The 19-year-old, who shot a six-under-par 64 at The Open venue on Tuesday to secure the top seeding once again in The R&A event, shook off Dane Mads Viemose Larsen at the 21st after what could have been an unsettling start to his day.
Graham, the 2022 Junior Open champion and a member of Europe’s winning side in the Junior Ryder Cup in Rome the following year, had been due to tee-off at 9.30am but didn’t step on the first tee until 10.40am after having to wait to find out who he would actually be up against in the round of 64.
That’s because no less than 24 players found themselves in a play-off on Wednesday morning for the final five spots, with Larsen eventually prevailing along with Filippo Ponzano, Gaven Lane, Stijn Egging and Rintaro Nakano.
Once finally underway, Graham found himself behind early on before getting his nose in front on the back nine only to then find himself playing extra holes after losing the par-4 18th.
“Yeah, it was a very stressful round out there,” admitted the youngest-ever player to compete in a Walker Cup. “It was pretty tight the whole way and, thankfully, I birdied the third extra hole to win it.
“I didn't feel too much extra pressure, but I knew he was going to come out and try and beat me, so I needed to kind of bring some good golf.”
He’ll need that, too, when he faces American Ethan Fang, who sits seventh in the World Amateur Golf Ranking while his opponent is 48th, in the last 32 on Thursday morning.
“Nothing too major,” said Graham, who has just completed his freshman year at Texas Tech, of what he can learn from being in the same position as 12 months ago but failing to make it to the latter stages of the knock-out phase. “Just knowing I'm playing good golf and I can beat anyone on my day.”
No matter what happens for the rest of the summer, Graham now looks an absolute certainty for Dean Robeertson’s Great Britain & Ireland team for the Walker Cup at Cypress Point in September.
Nonetheless, the Scot will be giving it his all to try and become the first Scot to land this title since his fellow Blairgowrie man, Bradley Neil, did the trick, at Royal Portrush in 2014.
“It would mean a lot,” admitted Graham with a smile. “It is such a big event, and I always look forward to this event, so it would definitely be a bonus having a good week.”
California-based Niall Shiels Donegan, the only other Scot to qualify, was unable to join his compatriot in the round of 64 after losing by one hole to Ireland’s Gavin Tiernan.
That denied Shiels Donegan the opportunity of a potential last-16 meeting with Eliot Baker, the Englishman who romped to victory in last month’s Scottish Men’s Open at North Berwick.
Others still standing include American Tommy Morrison, the world No 5, and Kris Kim, the highly-rated young English player who made the cut on the PGA Tour last year at the age of just 16.
Elsewhere, American Bob Jacobs set the pace in the Scottish Senior Men’s Open after carding an opening six-under-par 65 at Montrose.
The nine-birdie salvo left Jacobs one ahead of England’s Rupert Kellock, with Glasgow’s John Laurie faring best of the home contingent with a 67, one better than Edzell’s Gary Tough.
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