Sandy Scott eyes Open spot after narrowly missing out on US Open

Sandy Scott, who narrowly missed out on playing in this week’s US Open, could still find himself playing on one of the game’s biggest stages this summer.

The winner of this week’s Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham secures a spot in next month’s 150th Open, with Scott still standing in the battle for a dream date at St Andrews.

The Nairn player progressed to the last 32 in Lancashire with a 2&1 win over Welshman Matt Roberts and now faces England’s John Gough in a tasty third-round tie on Thursday morning.

Scott, who played in the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot, lost out in a six-man play-off in Texas last month for the last two spots in a final qualifier for this week’s event at Brookline.

The Walker Cup player is looking forward to facing Gough, who has won 20 of his last 22 match play tie, now that he’s fit again after almost two years of wrist injury problems.

“I first started noticing some pain probably in July two years ago,” said Scott. “So it's been close to two years I've been dealing with it but I was fully out of the game for about 18 months and it was the hardest time of my life.

“I'm just grateful to be back playing golf again and really, really happy that I'm here.”

Scott’s younger brother, Calum, bowed out on the opening day of the knock-out stage along with Angus Carrick and Connor Wilson, the winner and runner-up respectively in last year’s Scottish Amateur at Murcar Links.

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