Blairgowrie’s brilliant young prodigy Connor Graham has a two-shot lead on the best young players in the world going into the final round of the R&A Junior Open at Monifieth Links.
Connor, already a full Scotland international, is one of the most promising prospects produced by Scottish golf in years. Still only 15, he was runner-up in the prestigious Lytham Trophy this year and had a top ten finish in the St Andrews Links Trophy last month.
On Tuesday at Monifieth he scorched around in a five-under 67 to add to his first round 69 for a two-round total of eight-under.
He’s just ahead of Ratchanon “TK” Chantananuwat, Thailand’s celebrated young star courted by LIV Golf. Canada’s Eric Zhao is third on four-under while Korea’s Haecheon An and Oscar Bach of Norway are share fourth one shot further behind.
Chantananuwat, also 15, was the clear favourite for the title – he became the youngest winner of a world-ranked event with a win on the Asian Tour this year. But Connor’s links pedigree has come to the fore through two of the three rounds.
“It was windier today than Monday,” he said. “But I’m used to these conditions, to knocking the ball down into the wind. That showed today in my score.
“I only dropped one shot today which was good. But I was most happy that I didn’t drop any on the back nine because most of the holes were into the wind.
“I’ve played basically the same both days tee to green. I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens today. But I wasn’t as sharp around the greens yesterday or with my putter.
“I holed out a lot better today, a lot of testers from three to six feet. They were tough in that wind but I managed to hole most of them.”
‘It’s still just a game of golf’
Connor Graham making it look far too easy today at our Junior Open 😲
The Scot shot a remarkable five-under par 67 and currently leads by three 🏴👏
Live scoring here 👉 https://t.co/3e1Wd7PLkg pic.twitter.com/aPOsTa0c0O
— The R&A (@RandA) July 12, 2022
Connor’s not been playing a great deal of junior events of late as he’s graduated so quickly to senior golf.
“I don’t think there’s too much difference from boys to amateur,” he said. “I just think it’s still just a game of golf. You have to approach it the same way and perform well.
“The four wins last year definitely gave me confidence to play in tournaments like the Lytham Trophy. Obviously also this week, with a lot of good players from around the world.”
Chantananuwat showed his calibre as the winds dropped later in the day to match Connor’s 67 and move into a clear second place.
The Junior Open features some of the best under-16 players of both sexes. It’s played at the start of Open week close to the main venue every two years. Past winners include the 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, who won in 2006.
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