Rain so strong it reduced visibility to fifty yards in some squalls made for challenging conditions for the world’s top amateurs in first round of the St Andrew Links Trophy.
In the circumstances John Ross Galbraith 66 was an outstanding score, the Ulsterman landing suddenly finding his putting stroke on the back nine to claim the lead on his own.
The Irishman nearly won this event two years ago, leading down the final stretch before being overhauled in the run-in, but he survived the continuing and almost ceaseless rain battering the east coast this past week for a one shot advantage on Australia’s David Micheluzzi and Germany’s Claudio Consul.
The 20-year-old from Melbourne caught some of the Scottish weather on the west coast last week derailing his challenge for the Scottish Strokeplay title at Western Gailes, but this time he took advantage of a break in the weather to rattle off five successive birdies and six in all on the front nine.
“I had just nine putts, pitched in on the second and on the eighth,” he said of his outward half of 30. “But I had to scrap around quite a bit after that.
“We caught one storm which was as much rain as I’ve seen in my life. I had a number of a great up and downs on the back nine just to tough it out.”
Consul, who played junior golf with Martin Kaymer in his homeland, is a 34-year-old career amateur who has a PhD in engineering from Oxford University but now works for his family’s clothing business.
The Jubilee is notorious as often the trickiest of the St Andrews links courses and so it proved again although later starters had an obvious advantage avoiding most of the heavy rains and winds sweeping in over the West Sands dunes.
Craig Howie, the Scotland internationalist and former boys’ champion, bogeyed the last but quickly changed his mood when he saw the clubhouse leaderboard.
“I was annoyed at myself for that bogey but then I saw 69 was nothing to be annoyed about,” he said.
“It was odd because I bogeyed two of the par fives but played pretty well considering the conditions, which were pretty tough. We had a really big shower on the 9th tee and you couldn’t see 50 yards in front of you much less play golf.”
Calum Fyfe and Connor Syme also shot one-under 71s in the worst of the weather, the Drumoig World No 7 describing the elements as a “typical St Andrews crosswind”.
“I got to three-under after 11 and the bogeyed two of the last five, when it got really tough out there,” he said “You’re having to shape shots all day, there’s never any respite here in these conditions.
“The rough’s not up as much as I’ve seen it, but the Jubilee is definitely the toughest driving course on the links,” he added.
Top ranked Scot Robert MacIntyre and new Scottish Strokeplay champion Liam Johnston also had one-under 71s.
