Scottish golfer who suffered sore loss to Bob MacIntyre 'ready' for big challenge in Mallorca

Slowly but surely, the 33-year-old from Perth has made progress in the professional ranks and has now teed up the biggest week of his career to date by joining Euan Walker in making the 45-man field for the Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, which gets underway at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d’Alcudia on Thursday.

Helped by two top-ten finishes in his last five events, Young sits 27th - three spots below Walker - in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, with the players finishing in the top 22 on this occasion rather than the traditional top 20 securing promotion to the DP World Tour due to two people - Dane Rasmus Neergard-Petersen and South African Robin Williams - having already wrapped up Category 10 membership for next season.

“Obviously it was a goal of mine at the start of this year to get here and now, with four rounds of the season to go, the next goal is to get off the Challenge Tour,” Young, who is making his debut in the season finale after never really getting close when push came to shove in the last three years, told The Scotsman on an overcast day in the Balearics. 

“Last year was probably the exception since I turned pro as I had a poor year, but, outside that, I feel I have progressed a little bit every year, feeling as though my game has got better and also feeling as though I am always learning.”

Though disappointed that it had been a lost opportunity in respect of landing a breakthrough win on the circuit, a second-place finish in the Big Green Egg German Challenge powered by VcG was timely in terms of making it here while a more recent top ten in the Hainan Open has teed up his chance to end up where it matters when the coveted cards are handed out on Sunday night.

“It’s these big weeks you need to get off this tour as the points are top heavy,” said Young, who will have his parents, Lesley and Ian, as well as his girlfriend Katy and her parents, Janice and Bill, rooting for him on the golf course and also helping keep his mind off a pressure-packed event away from it. “I’ve not missed many cuts this year, but I’ve probably only had three or four top-ten finishes and you need to rack them up to be at the top end of the order of merit.”

He’s shot 65 three times this season and going low again at some point this week, when the conditions aren’t expected to be as windy as the last couple of years at this same venue, which is owned by Hans-Peter Porsche, grandson of the legendary car pioneer Ferdinand, wouldn’t go amiss. 

“I think that’s how you are going to win a tournament out here and you see it every week,” said Young, who worked as a caddie at Kingsbarns Golf Links to fund his amateur career and has helped out occasionally even since becoming a tour professional at the venue he is attached to while also grateful for the support he’s had over the years from Auchterarder-based Stephen Gardiner Homes and Dundee civil engineering contractor Kilmac.

“The scoring is normally pretty low, so you need to have that one low round at least to get in contention to pick one off. I’ve had a few nice low ones throughout the year and it is nice to know that you can do that in tournament golf. It’s alright doing it at home, but doing it out here is where you make the money and add up the points.”

Young, flying the Craigie Hill flag at the time, had already won the South African Amateur Championship in 2015 before finding himself up against MacIntyre in the final of the Scottish equivalent in East Lothian. At the halfway stage in the 36-hole title decider, Young found himself four up before his younger opponent came roaring back in the afternoon round to pull off a stunning two-hole victory.

“I probably wasn’t thinking so much about Bob that day,” admitted Young,  laughing, of the left-hander having shown the potential that has seen him become a Ryder Cup player and win both the RBC Canadian Open and Genesis Scottish Open this season to currently sit in the world’s top 20. 

“I’d spent most of that year travelling and being in and around Bob through the Scottish set up. Bob, Ewen Ferguson and Connor Syme were a bit younger than me, but you could tell they were all good golfers and they could certainly make it in the game.

“They have all done well, though Bob is the one who is peaking at the moment for Scottish golf and it is great to see Scottish guys playing well generally. There’s a barreload of them doing well on the DP World Tour and consistently making it to the end-of-season events and hopefully Euan and I can have a good week this week and add a couple of names to the list.

“It would be massive for me and I certainly feel as though I am ready to make that next jump and play on the main tour. I’ve played in a few events there over the years and I feel like my game is plenty good enough and, throughout this year, it’s little layers of things that add to that, as well as a bit more experience that has helped massively in certain circumstances.”