Fast learner Connor Syme takes a step up

ST ANDREWS, September 28, 2017 – Scotland’s newest professional Connor Syme describes the opportunity to play in next week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as a “dream come true”.

The last time Connor, now 22, played it was in 2014 as an amateur, but now he is in the field as a fully fledged professional and eagerly looking forward to following up on his outstanding debut performance in last week’s Portugal Masters, where he finished joint 12th.

Connor said: “I will never forget playing as a 19-year-old amateur. It gave me a real taste of the big time and made me even more determined to become a professional. So to be able to return to the Dunhill three years on, as a pro, is a dream come true.

“I was delighted with how my first tournament went in Portugal last week and I hope I can do as well at St Andrews. It’s the place everyone wants to do well.”

He qualified to play in the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links through the Scottish Golf Union – both the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship support the belief that amateur golf development is of paramount importance to the future of the game and that support of the amateur bodies in developing top golfers and ensuring they receive the appropriate support so that they do not turn professional too early in their careers is important for the future of professional golf.

Connor, from Drumoig, said at the time: “It’s the perfect opportunity to study the top players and find out more about what I have to do to reach the top. In the long run this is where you want to be.” He is obviously a fast learner!