Max Buckley, a 22-year-old from Rye who plays out of Westchester Country Club, left for Scotland last Thursday, and is playing in the 117th British Amateur this week at Glasgow - Gailes Links and Royal Troon. He’s among the 288 golfers from 32 countries in the field.
Stroke play qualifying began this morning.
Buckley, who’s got a few credits to finish up at SMU and is looking to make a Walker Cup run, will check in as time allows to share his experiences. Here’s the first dispatch from before this afternoon’s opening round:
(File photo – Mark Vergari/The Journal News )
Well, the weather in Scotland proves to be unique as usual. I had my first practice round on Saturday at 12:30 and the weather was about 50 degrees with a 30 mph wind with the rain beginning to become constant. Gailes links is a beautiful course that has stood the test of time and remains difficult even as technology has continued to evolve. With pot bunkers perfectly placed in the fairways and in front of greens, this course is no walk in the park. We played the back nine in torrential rains and winds that made it feel like we were playing in a washing machine. Even my native Scottish caddie told me that it was the worst conditions he had seen in over a year.
On Sunday we played Royal Troon the site of Justin Leonard’s and Todd Hamilton’s British Open victories. The day was very calm with the temperature never reaching 60. What makes Troon unique is that the front nine goes out in one direction and the back nine comes back in the opposite direction. I played the famous postage stamp par-3 eighth hole to perfection and I hope to do the same on Tuesday morning. I have a 2:13 p.m. tee time on Monday and the weather is beautiful sunny conditions with highs in the low 60’s. Hope to send you back some good news in a few hours.
