'Real player' Cameron Adam savours 'far-fetched' week in Scottish Amateur

Cameron Adam celebrates his sensational performance in the Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch with mum Lyndsay, left, and dad Steve, right, as well as his uncle and caddie for the week, Keith Sturton. Picture: Scottish Golf

The 20-year-old Royal Burgess player became the first left-hander to land the title since Bob MacIntyre at Muirfield in 2015 as he beat Gregor Tait - the Aldeburgh member fell at the last hurdle for the second year running - by 5&3 in the 18-hole final at Royal Dornoch.

Adam, An Edinburgh man but now living in Pattiesmuir in Fife, pulled off the victory as the top seed, having carded course-record 63s on successive days at Royal Dornoch and Tain in the stroke-play qualifying for Scottish Golf’s marquee men’s event.

In addition to Tait, his scalps in the match-play stage also included highly-rated duo Matthew Wilson and Daniel Bullen, Tennant Cup and Cameron Corbett Vase winner James Morgan and Jack McDonald, who landed the Battle Trophy this year.

Bob MacIntyre and Cameron Adam pictured at The Renaissance Club during one of the games they've played together though a 'buddy' initiative set up by the Stephen Gallacher Foundation and Bounce Sport Management

“Honesty, I’m still struggling to put into words how much it means and how good it feels,” said Adam of his success and the manner of it. “Put it this way, It’s something that I couldn’t have made up in my mind at the start of the week. It’s so far-fetched to shoot two course records then go and follow it up by emerging as the winner. I mean, how does it get any better?

“It’s been quite a tough year as I’ve felt really good about my game for a lot of it but just not performed at all. I just needed it to all come together in a score instead of feeling as though I was hitting it nicely but not scoring well. It was nice to see it come together in the stroke-play qualifying and that gave me the confidence boost for the match-play phase.”

Historically in amateur events, being the top seed is a poisoned chalice and Adam found himself down early on in his first-round match against Marcus Rickard of St Andrews before turning that one around and then going from strength to strength in the knock-out phase.

“To get through the first game was quite big,” he admitted. “I didn’t play that bad in it, but I was down early on after making eight straight pars. To see that one thorough was big, as was beating Matty Wilson in the second round as I knew that was going to be a big challenge as he’s a great player. To get through those two ties on the first day was massive for the confidence.

“From my perspective, to think I beat three guys who are playing in the Home Internationals next week is massive, especially as I felt I should maybe have been part of that and have been left out so to prove a point, I suppose, means a lot to me.”

Controversially, a spot for the national champion wasn’t set aside when the line up for next week’s four-cornered event at Machynys in South Wales was named before the battle in Sutherland involving the country’s top players.

“I mean, I know some other lads - James Morgan, for example, is gutted to be left out - had a great case to be picked,” said Adam of being forced to wait until another time to make his full international debut. “It’s just kind of the way it is sometimes. Look, it’s not going to define and I’m going to get another week at home with my family. I’m disappointed, but I’m sure the boys who have been selected will do us proud by playing well.”

As a junior, a combination of playing his golf at Royal Burgess, getting additional opportunities through being an ambassador for the Stephen Gallacher Foundation and being part of the Merchiston Castle golf programme provided a solid base for Adam’s career.

“Burgess has been amazing and Merchiston was one of my great breaks,” he admitted. “I’ve got a lot to thank Alan Murdoch (who ran the programme before he recently took up a new director of golf role in Asia) for getting me in there as it kind of showed me how important academics are as well as my golf and that kind of opened a door to Northwestern that might not have been opened otherwise.”

He’s been at Northwestern for the past two years, having been recruited by David Inglis, who won the British Boys’ Championship in 2000 when the Glencorse player looked destined for stardom before his career in golf took a twist.

“I’ve come on massively at Northwestern,” said Adam, who heads back to Illinois at the end of this month to start his junior year. “I played quite well in my freshman year but then didn’t play well as a sophomore, though I still felt I was developing. My skills were getting way better and I felt I was hitting it better without managing to get my tournament rounds together.

“Under both David Inglis and Pat Goss, I feel as though I have developed so much. I feel my swing is reliable, my game is reliable and I could do it under pressure like I did at Dornoch and that allowed me to do what I did.

“The people who back the programme play a massive part and the proof is in the pudding. To see Dylan [Wu] and David [Lipsky] doing so well in the last five to ten years and both Luke Donald and Matt Fitzpatruck also having been there, obviously something is going right and I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to be learning from it and hopefully keep progressing in the two years I’ve got left there.”

Though Inglis was playing in a tournament himself in the US as Adam was finishing off the job at Dornoch, he had one eye on how the final was panning out. “I’m so, so happy for Cammy,” he said. “This kind of performance has been coming for a long time and this has to go down as one of the most impressive wins at the Scottish Amateur. Two course-record 63’s in qualifying and winning six matches as the No 1 seed. So proud of him and excited for what’s to come for him. He’s a real player.”

Through a ‘buddy’ programme set up by the Stephen Gallacher Foundation and Bounce Sport Management, Adam is mentored by MacIntyre, who was quick to offer his praise for a fellow lefty’s performance in a post on social media on Saturday night.

“It’s been massive for me and it really helped me out last year,” said Adam of knowing that two-time DP World Tour winner and Ryder Cup contender MacIntyre is at the other end of the phone whenever he needs any advice. “When I flew home from the States, the airline lost my golf clubs. I arrived home on the Monday to play in the Links Trophy at St Andrews and was due to play a practice round on the Tuesday and I was faced with having no golf clubs all week before I was able to lean on Bob by borrowing some clubs from him.

“I’ve also been able to play with him a few times and just to pick his brains about what he’s going through at certain times and different things is invaluable.”