Liam Johnston ended a nine-year wait for a home winner in the Carrick Neill Scottish Strokeplay Championship defying the rain and wind’s late arrival at Western Gailes yesterday.
The 24-year-old from the Dumfries and County club, who already had a notable win in the African Amateur in South Africa earlier this year, pulled away from Australia’s David Micheluzzi on the final nine holes as the weather closed in off the Firth of Clyde.
Not since Wallace Booth won at the Duke’s near St Andrews in 2008 has a Scot won the national strokeplay title, and in the interim now-established European Tour winners like Tommy Fleetwood and Andy Sullivan have taken the silver trophy.
In the end Johnston was able to cruise to a victory which makes him a solid bet for a Scottish presence in the Walker Cup at Los Angeles CC in September, despite being largely unaware of where he was on the leaderboard.
The absence of on-course scoreboards meant the internet and word of mouth were the only ways of knowing how close to the title he was, but Johnston admitted he didn’t really want to know.
“My caddie Stuart Hillson knew what was happening but he was under instructions only to tell me if I needed a couple of birdies in the last couple of holes,” he said. “I really just wanted to play my game and I felt that everything would be fine.
“At the 17th Stuart told me that I should aim for the centre of the green, so I realised that I must be doing okay, but I still thought I needed that par putt on the last to win.”
Instead he had a two-stroke advantage on England’s fast-finishing Matthew Jordan, with Micheluzzi – tied for the lead with Johnston on nine-under going into the final round – and Scotland team mate Craig Howie sharing third four shots behind the champion.
“I had been pretty windy and tricky all day but it was only once we got to the 10th or 11th that the rain started and it got to be a bit of grind,” he said. “I’d got a bit of a Brucie Bonus with a 25 foot putt at the third just after I three-putted the second, which settled me down for sure.
“Once the rain came it was just head down and make pars.”
He added that the national title was definitely his biggest achievement to date.
“It’s probably a slightly better field than in Africa, although that win gave me a huge confidence boost to help me when I’m in contention now,” he said.
“Walker Cup is definitely the aim, and two big wins in the season is obviously going to be a help, although there’s still a lot of work to do I think.”
The impressive Michelozzi dropped four strokes including carving out of the bounds at the 17th after the weather which had hung threateningly all day over the Isle of Arran finally closed in.
Howie, who had been tied for the lead overnight, also had a stretch of four bogeys which knocked him out of contention.
Conor Syme couldn’t get it going in either of yesterday’s two rounds with a pair of 72s and the Drumoig Walker Cup hopeful finished on his own in fifth.
Final scores
275 – L Johnston (Dumfries & County) 69 66 69 71
277 – M Jordan (Royal Liverpool) 72 66 69 70
279 – C Howie (Peebles) 71 64 70 74, D Micheluzzi (Australia) 67 68 69 75
280 – C Syme (Drumoig) 66 70 72 72
281 – C Charmasson (Fra) 71 72 71 67, M Lamb (Hexham) 69 73 73 67
282 – J R Galbraith (Whitehead) 73 69 69 71
284 – M Saulez (SA) 71 73 69 71, A Venter (SA) 69 68 71 76, L Shepherd (Rye) 71 66 73 74
285 – T Plumb (Sherborne) 66 73 73 73, B Ferguson (Australia) 71 67 75 72
286 – G Bloor (Cavendish) 69 74 72 71, N Popplewell (Wath) 72 71 71 72, T Smyth (Australia) 72 69 74 71, J Gaunt (Drayton Park) 71 68 74 73
287 – S Scott (Nairn) 75 69 70 73, J Singh Brar (Remedy Oak) 69 72 75 71
288 – J Hapgood (Southerndown) 68 73 78 69, H Barron (Australia) 71 68 72 77, J Bryce (Bathgate) 69 69 76 74
