Ryan Brown expected to be on the beach by now at West Kilbride, but instead the 16-year-old from Dunfermline is the surprise of the last eight in the Scottish Boys Championship.
The Queen Anne HS pupil, resplendent in eye-watering luminous lime green yesterday, ousted fellow Fifer and eighth seed Niall McMullen in yesterday’s fifth round to continue a remarkable debut in a national ranked event.
Brown wasn’t even under the ballot a year ago, although he had played for the Fife County Boys team alongside McMullen. His ambitions for this week, were merely to get to the second round.
“My mum and dad have come down with me for the week and we were just going to enjoy a holiday if I didn’t get very far,” he said. “I really expected to be on the beach by now, but it’s been great fun.”
Dad Alfie, the former Fife County player, walked round with his son, but mum Elaine thinks she puts Ryan off when she watches. “Dad gives me the odd look now and then if I don’t hit a good shot, but mum sits in the clubhouse with a glass of wine so she’s quite happy,” he added.
Elaine would have no problem spotting her son from there with his hi-viz garb yesterday “I got a bit bored with everyone else wearing blue and black” as he took on McMullen.
“I suppose it was a bit better for me playing someone I knew at this stage, although it was tough as well playing a guy who is a friend,” added Ryan after going ahead at the sixth with a birdie and slowly building a lead to five-up before eventually settling for 3 and 2 victory.
He now takes on the top seed and tournament favourite, British Boys champion Ewen Ferguson and added: “I’m really looking forward to playing the top player in the field.”
Ben Kinsley and Robert Macintyre might have an argument against that assessment, and both continue to make seamless progress towards the last four.
St Andrews’ Ben had a spectacular finish of five birdies in his last seven holes to win his fourth round match against Robert Watson but then bogeyed the first two holes from 100 yards short of the green to go two down to Duncan McNeill of Powfoot, who’d been rattling off a series of impressive wins this week.
Ben won three in a row after that to get back ahead, and the key was the seventh, when Kinsley rammed in a tricky eight-foot putt to stay in front. By the time, they’d reached the 12th, Ben had moved to five-up.
“Obviously after two semi-finals in the Boys (2011 and 2013) the aim is to go better and win, but even though this is my last Boys’ Championship I wasn’t really pushing to win in this time,” he admitted.
“Now I’ve got to this stage, though, I’m really up for winning this now.”