The last time he won something in Scotland it was the little matter of 168 bottles of champagne but Andrew Johnston’s victory in the Scottish Hydro Challenge may prove far more satisfying in the long term.
The 25-year-old from Middlesex, known as “Beef”, carved up the Macdonald Spey Valley course at Aviemore for his maiden Challenge Tour victory, taking histwo-shot lead at the start of the day and coasting impressively after the early spark of an eagle two on the second hole.
His other “win” in Scotland was a hole-in-one prize at the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart in 2012 but the $40,000 won in Aviemore might have considerably more long-lasting and memorable effect, almost certainly giving him a top 20 berth on the Challenge Tour and a route back to the European Tour proper.
His final round 66 for a 19-under aggregate of 265 equalled the tournament record set by Brooks Koepka last year and was good enough to win by three shots.
“I’ve still got one case of six bottles left over from that but they won’t last long now,” said the Englishman, who is a quarter Scots and a quarter Jamaican.
“I gave away most of them to friends, some to charity and drank a few, but I wasn’t saving the last ones for my first win, although they’ll be useful for the celebrations.”
It was an emotional win for the player who had one season on the main tour but whose career was hampered by a shoulder injury that put him out for six months.
“It shows that I’m coming back and that if I keep doing what I’m doing and keep working hard, good things are going to happen,” he said.
Any thought that Johnston might be spooked with his early lead was dispelled when he holed an 83-yard wedge shot at the second for an eagle.
“It was a good yardage, into the wind and I just let it drift in on the breeze,” he said.
“The pin was out of sight but people at the green signalled to me that it was in, and it was the perfect way to start. It settled me down straight away.”
Four birdies followed to stretch his advantage to five shots at one stage, so that even a lost ball on the 17th and his only bogey of the day was just a minor distraction.
Overnight rain had softened the course and taken the danger out of the tight driving holes, allowing two early 63s, just one off the course record.
Veteran Welshman and former world cup winner Stephen Dodd produced one and the other came from Sam Hutsby, who lost the 2009 Amateur Championship final to Matteo Manassero.
Both jumped 30 places up the field but the wind stiffened in the afternoon to make such significant inroads from players in closer reach of Johnston more unlikely.
The big threat of young German Moritz Lampert, aiming to emulate Koepka and complete a third win on tour and gain automatic promotion on to the European Tour, ultimately didn’t last long, although there was a sting in the tail.
Lampert’s bogey on the first andJohnston’s eagle on the second turned a two-shot overnight deficit into five and, although the protg of Martin Kaymer made a charge on the back nine, including a stretch of seven birdies in eight holes, by then Johnston was in his comfort zone.
In the end the damage on the front nine meant the charge was only good enough to secure a share of second with veteran Australian Terry Pilkadaris, who shot a four-under 67 to finish.
“I was nervous at the start because I knew what this meant for me,” said Lampert. “Just a couple of bad shots cost me in the first five holes, and I got on a roll on the back nine.”
Scot Greig Hutcheon also briefly got within two shots of the leader with a couple of early birdies but a bogey on the fourth, allied with Johnston’s eagle, left him trailing, and no one was to get that close to the North Londoner again.
Hutcheon eventually finished with a par 71, meaning he lost the Douglas Lowe Memorial Trophy for best Scottish finisher in the event to Paul McKechnie, who shot a frustrating 70 to leave him tied 20th with Hutcheon on 10-under but took the prize on a better final round.
“I had 17 pars and one birdie, which sums up the day perfectly,” he said. “I must have left seven or eight putts in the jaws. Even on the last I had a 15 footer I struck nicely but it was a quarter-roll short.”
McKechnie will now head for final open qualifying at Glasgow Gailes tomorrow, the course where he holds the record of 63. David Law had the best final round of the four remaining Scots, a 67, which took him into a top 30 finish.