Blairgowrie golfer Bradley Neil has enjoyed a double boost before this week’s World Amateur Team Championship by being confirmed as Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year and the winner of the SGU Order of Merit.
The 18-year-old, who crowned his season in June by being the first Scot in 10 years to win the Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush, is part of the three-man Scottish team aiming to regain the Eisenhower Trophy starting today in Japan.
However, the cut-off point for the two prime domestic titles has passed with Neil’s outstanding season ensuring he was the comfortable victor for both prizes.
He was the highest-placed Scot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at sixth, in what has been a vintage season for the amateur Scots with an all-time high of six players inside the WAGR top 100.
Neil takes the golfer of the year title with his high placing, ahead of Grant Forrest (18th), with Jamie Savage, Chris Robb, Jack McDonald and James Ross the others within the top 100.
Neil also won the cumulative crown of the Order of Merit title, making him the first player to do the double since Callum Macaulay in 2007.
As well as his Amateur victory in June, Bradley finished runner-up in a play-off to Forrest at the St Andrews Links Trophy, and had podium finishes at the European Nations Cup and the Lytham Trophy. He will also play for Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup over his home course in just under two weeks’ time.
Robb, the winner of the Scottish Amateur at Downfield, claimed the runners-up spot behind Bradley in the Order of Merit race, winning two other ranking tournaments during the summer.
“It’s a great achievement for me,” said Neil of the double success.
“I would have been delighted to win one of them, but winning both tops off my season really well, even though we have more to play for in Japan this week ahead of the Junior Ryder Cup.
“The Amateur win obviously helped me on the merit table and the WAGR. Building up to the Amateur I had lot of good stroke play performances, like in the Lytham Trophy and at the St Andrews Links. I was just behind Grant in the rankings and when I won it took me ahead of him, so it was great to stay there.
“We’ve had six Scots in the top 100 (of the WAGR) this year, which is certainly different to last year.
“We’ve shown as a group that we’ve made a step up and made big improvements at British and European level. We’ve driven each other on this season.”
Neil, Forrest and Robb are the Scottish team at the biennial Eisenhower Trophy which is being staged in in the city of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture from today until Saturday.
The 72-hole strokeplay event is one of the most prestigious in amateur golf and Scotland claimed a first-ever victory in 2008 in Australia when the team of Wallace Booth, Gavin Dear and Macaulay won by nine strokes over a USA team featuring Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.
“Hopefully we can play well this week and contend at the Eisenhower. It’s a question of performing as a team this week,” said Neil.