Connor Graham eyes St Andrews success after strong sophomore season in US

Graham recently returned home after completing his sophomore year at Texas Tech, where he had a compatriot, Calum Scott, for company as a freshman before finding himself flying solo for the Red Raiders in the season that has just finished.

The 19-year-old started in the Texas Tech team in all 12 events - one of just two players to do so - and recorded three top-ten finishes, two of which were top fives and also included a career-best second-place effort at The Clerico at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Graham posted the second-most par-or-better rounds on the team with 24, including 18 sup-par scores, and also had the second-most rounds on the team carded in the 60s with 16. His scoring average across 36 rounds in 12 tournaments was 70.2. He made a PING All-Region Team, a First Team All-Big 12 and also secured a spot on the International Team for the Arnold Palmer Cup, which takes place at Tralee in early July.

In short, Graham is continuing to fulfill the promise he showed when winning The R&A Junior Open at Monifieth in 2022 before then creating history as the youngest-ever player to compete in a Walker Cup, as he did at the age of just 16 at St Andrews in 2023.

“I felt like it was okay for the most part,” he replied to being asked by The Scotsman how he’d assess his latest college campaign, having followed in the footsteps of not only brothers Calum and Sandy Scott by heading to Lubbock in Texas but Ludvig Aberg as well. “There was a lot of good golf in there, though there were also a few things that needed tidying up before coming home for the summer.

“I think you are always still learning. I feel like the first year at college is more just a case of learning and then in the second year you kind of get a grasp of things and I’m now going to be a bit older when it comes to being on the team, which is going to be nice going into my third year.”

How does he assess his game compared to when he started at Texas Tech? “I would say it has matured a lot through working with the coaches out there and playing the courses over there as you really learn a lot about how to play the game of golf at a better level,” he mused. “You are always learning what you can do to improve, and I think that has been really key for me over there.”

‘Frustrated’ by failing to make NCAA Championship Finals

The one big disappointment in the 2025/26 campaign was Texas Tech failing to make the NCAA Championship Finals, meaning Graham was back home in Perthshire as fellow Scots Niall Shiels Donegan and Ollie Mukherjee represented North Carolina and Duke respectively in the season-ending event at La Costa in California last week.

“That was really frustrating as we should have been making the Nationals,” groaned Graham, who sits 37th - seven spots below California-based Shiels Donegan - in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. “It’s quite annoying when the whole year comes down to three rounds and you play three pretty average rounds and don’t make it. It will just make us all the more determined to make sure it doesn’t happen again next year, when we will have a really strong team.”

Talking of teams, Graham is determined to be part of a Great Britain & Ireland side for a third Walker Cup match in a row when the latest edition takes place at Lahinch in September. He flew the Saltire along with Sandy Scott in the aforementioned 2023 match at St Andrews before joining Niall Shiels Donegan and Cameron Adam in last year’s line up at Cypress Point.

Adam, of course, has since turned professional but, along with Shiels Donegan, Graham looks a strong contender to be in Dean Robertson’s ranks once again as the former Scottish Amateur champion bids to make GB&I competitive in all four sessions in Ireland after being steamrollered by the Americans in the concluding singles in California last September. “Yeah, that is definitely going to be one of the highlights of the year if I end up making that team,” admitted Graham. “Lahinch will be a pretty cool venue, so I’ve just got to keep producing some solid golf.”

Over the coming few weeks, Graham will be playing in the Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool and European Amateur Championship at Linna Golf in Finland. He’s also hoping to tee up in The Open for the second year running, either through winning The Open Amateur Series, as Adam did last year, or coming through Final Qualifying once again at Dundonald Links.

‘Ready to go again’ after week off at home

First up, though, is the Links Trophy at St Andrews, where the opening two rounds take place on the New Course on Friday and Saturday before the final 36 holes are played on the Old Course on Sunday. “It is always nice coming back home and staying competitive,” admitted Graham, who has been using his visits to St Andrews this week to get his swing checked over by Fintan Bonner, his trusty coach. “I got a nice week off last week and I’m now ready to go again.”

Adam triumphed in a play-off last year in the Links Trophy, becoming the first home player since Grant Forrest in 2014 to claim the coveted prize. In what will be a shock to many, Graham is among just nine Scots - four less than last year - in the field on this occasion, which is due to the WAGR cut-off falling at 673, which is around 100 spots lower than 12 months ago.

St Andrews member Finlay Galloway will be hoping to produce his best golf on home turf, with the others flying the Saltire being Oli Blackadder (Deeside), George Cannon (Glenbervie), Andrew Davidson (Crail Golfing Society), Jamie Duguid (Dunbar), Ross Laird (Glenbervie), Dominic McGlinchey (Renaissance Club) and Kai Laing (Broomieknowe).

“It is such a strong field now,” observed Graham, who has been paired with recent Brabazon Trophy winner Tom Osborne and Africa Amateur champion Jack Buchanan for the first two days and will also have Royal Birkdale’s Greg Holmes, the newly-crowned Scottish Men’s Open champion, along his title rivals. “It’s a great event in the home of golf and that’s probably why a lot more people want to get in the field.”

Just under seven years ago at Crail, Graham teed up in the Scottish Amateur Championship along with his dad Stuart and big brother Gregor, who is now in the professional ranks and hoping to make his presence felt on the HotelPlanner Tour this year. As was the case then, the trio still love playing the odd game together. “I always enjoy taking money off my dad, so it will be nice to get that chance again now that I’m back home,” declared Connor, laughing.