By Steve Scott, golf correspondent

KEVIN MCALPINE is making real strides instead of baby steps in his comeback from a serious knee injury and proved it by making a mini-comeback to survive in the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Troon yesterday.

The 25-year-old winner in 2006 is in only his fourth event since returning from anterior cruciate ligament surgery to his left knee, but believes that the five-month layoff has galvanised his game again as he seeks to turn pro at the season’s end.

One of the few to have held the national strokeplay and matchplay titles simultaneously, McAlpine’s main aim this year was simply to be ready to play here, so to win his opening tie against the four-time Lothians champion Stuart Smith from a seemingly hopeless position on the fearsome Ayrshire links yesterday was a huge boost.

Duddingston’s Smith is always dangerous in the Scottish amateur draw so it was very tough for McAlpine, who was closely followed by national coach Ian Rae and Scotland captain Scott Knowles.

At four down at the turn, it seemed that only three strokeplay events since he returned to golf less than a month ago were not enough preparation for the Alyth player, but he turned the contest around on the back nine.

Three-under figures got him back level by the 15th, and although he missed a birdie chance to go ahead at the 16th and needed to hole a tricky par putt for a half on the short 17th, he won the last with a par after Smith bunkered his tee shot.

McAlpine said, “You want a tough opening tie, but there were times I was looking at the games in front and behind where they were all over the rough and thinking ‘why couldn’t I have drawn one of those guys’.

“I still have some pain in my knee and part of you still wonders whether it’ll hold up sometimes when you’re hitting out of rough like it is here, but today was a great help.

“To be four-down wasn’t that discouraging because this is the kind of course where you can be that far up and lose—it was just a case of hanging in there and the birdie I got at the 10th got a little momentum going for me.”

In one sense the long absence due to the knee injury—from playing five-a-side football just before Christmas—may have re-ignited McAlpine’s drive to succeed.

McAlpine, the son of former Dundee United favourite Hamish McAlpine, said, “To be honest I’d had a pretty awful season in 2008 and was planning to do lots of work in the winter but the injury stopped all that.

“My dad’s obviously had injuries like that in his career and he said all I could do was knuckle down and do the rehabilitation work, and I got terrific backing from the SGU in physio and gym programmes.

“It’s been literally baby-steps for a lot of the time and hugely frustrating when I saw the other guys playing at the start of this season, but it’s shown to me how much I love the game and brought back a lot of the enthusiasm and determination to succeed.”

McAlpine is working as a kitchen designer in Dundee but plans to turn pro at the end of the season.

He said, “I want to take the time to practise and work and see how good I can be, because I believe I can be pretty good.”

While McAlpine went through, there was disappointment for one of Perth and Kinross’ big hopes in second seed Wallace Booth, who was outplayed by the former British boys’ champion Jordan Findlay.

The 21-year-old from Fraserburgh, now coached by Bob Torrance, has struggled to live up to his early promise but showed plenty of that potential in a 5 and 3 victory which might be a terminal blow to the Comrie man’s hopes of playing in the Walker Cup in September.

His county colleague Gavin Dear, the first seed, maintained his run in the second round with a 2 and 1 win over Thomas Rennie, a match where the weather played a huge part.

Strong wind meant that Dear was happy with four-over for the 17 holes and parring the last six holes to grind out the win.

“I hit an eight-iron from 120 yards at one point and it only got halfway there,” said Dear, who is employing promising Troon youngster Rachel MacQueen to help read the greens.

“I’m not surprised that the other seeds are falling because most of them are the longer hitters and that advantage is taken away when conditions are like this.

“I just concentrated on missing the fairway bunkers and getting on safely, and I was two-putting from distance at almost every hole on the back nine.”

Dear may lose Rachel’s expertise tomorrow as his third-round match may start before she can complete a morning quarter-final tie in the Troon Ladies club championship on the neighbouring Portland course.

After young hopes Michael Stewart and James Byrne went on Monday, the fall of seeds continued with the US-based Andrew Abercrombie beating seventh seed Steven McEwan in the first round.

Colville Park’s Ross Kellett survived with a 4 and 3 win, but the most impressive first-round win came from Lundin’s James White, who was four under in hammering Robert Carson (Dalmahoy) 8 and 7, although before the worst of the weather could set in.

Ian Redford, down from a one handicap to plus one since the Boys Championship at Royal Aberdeen in April, had an impressive 4 and 3 win over Deer Park’s Andrew Rothney and his New Club colleague Liam McGowan also came through.

Another promising teenager, Grange’s Mark Thomson, had a 3 and 2 win in his first-round match over Worcestershire’s Jamie Dunster, while brothers Michael and Alex Main and Scott Michie of Thornton went to the second round without playing the last three holes.

Round One

S McClory (Bathgate) bt D Ramsay (Elgin) 5 and 3, D Hunter (Marriott Dalmahoy) bt J Sloan (Doon Valley) 6 and 5, J Duff (Newmachar) bt A Wallace (Glenbervie) 2 and 1, K Godsman (Hopeman) bt D Anderson (Cochrane Castle) 1 hole, G Robertson (Irvine Ravenspark) bt J King (Glasgow) 3 and 2, J White (Lundin) bt R Carson (Marriott Dalmahoy) 8 and 7, A Wright (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt S Harrod (Ballumbie Castle) 3 and 2, M Gray (Lanark) bt M Reid (Downfield) 1 hole, G Stewart (Murcar Links) bt N Gold (Bonnyton) 3 and 2, A McKay (Balmore) bt G Robertson (Glenbervie) 4 and 2, G Yates (Hilton Park) bt M Dickson (Gullane) 3 and 2, I Redford (St Andrews New) bt A Rothney (Deer Park) 4 and 3, B Innes (Murcar Links) bt D Oldham (Hamilton) at the 20th hole, M Halliday (Royal Aberdeen) bt S McGrenaghan (Cochrane Castle) 3 and 2, J Hendrick (Pollok) bt M Rice (Easingwood) 8 and 7, R McGrory (Singing Hills) bt D Miller (Duddingston) 3 and 2, S Neilson (Dunbar) bt D Thom (Burntisland) 5 and 4, L McGowan (St Andrews New) bt G Finlay (Ballumbie Castle) 2 and 1, F Henderson (Craigielaw) bt S Morrison (US) 2 and 1, R Kellett (Colville Park) bt K Duncan (McDonald) 6 and 4, J Burns (Mount Ellen) bt S Maxwell (Windyhill) 5 and 3, M Buchan (Cruden Bay) bt N Lamond (Balmore) 6 and 5, S Michie (Thornton) bt B Rushford (Grangemouth) 4 and 3, B Scott (Lochmaben) bt G Crawford (Williamwood) 4 and 3, A Abercrombie (US) bt S McEwan (Caprington) 1 hole, E Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt B Campbell (Kirkintilloch) 1 hole, C Gray (West Kilbride) bt M McMillan (Bonnyton) 1 hole, C Robb (Inchmarlo) bt S Baillie (Garmouth and Kingston) 2 and 1, S Henderson (Hamilton) bt A Weir (Montrose Mercantile) 2 holes, F McKenna (Balmore) bt P Gault (Kirkhill) 8 and 7, C Forman (Peterhead) bt J Neilson (Dunbar) 2 and 1, N McKinnon (Murcar Links) bt T McInroy (North Berwick) 6 and 5, M Main (Thornton) bt D McMillan (Lanark) 5 and 4, C Watson (East Renfrewshire) bt S Lockhart (Bathgate) at the 19th hole, J Miller (Gullane) bt P McLean (Peterhead) 5 and 4, G Lawrie (Prestwick St Nicholas) bt E McIntosh (Newmachar) 1 hole, S Stewart-Cation (Ladybank) bt S Taylor (Germany) 3 and 1, K McAlpine (Alyth) bt S Smith (Duddingston) 1 hole, C Thomson (East Renfrewshire) bt P Betty (Hayston) at the 19th hole, B Sloan (Cathkin Braes) bt C McLaughlin (Largs) 2 and 1, M Clark (Kilmacolm) bt C Stuart (Moray) at the 20th hole, D Law (Hazlehead) bt N McWilliam (Garmouth and Kingston) 5 and 4, I Thomson (Powfoot) bt M Robertson (Selkirk) 2 holes, M Thomson (Grange) bt J Dunster (Worcestershire) 3 and 2, D Sommerville (St Andrews) bt N Howitt (Nairn) 4 and 3.

K Shanks (USA) bt G McDougall (Bishopbriggs) at the 19th hole, M Daily (Erskine) bt P Ferrier (Baberton) 1 hole, D Harrison (Crieff) bt K Smith (Troon Welbeck) at the 20th, O Huish (North Berwick) bt M Grunwell (Powfoot) 1 hole, J Findlay (Fraserburgh) bt W Booth (Comrie) 3 and 2, B Edmond (Bon Accord) bt C Riddick (Southerness) at the 20th hole, R Jenkins (Crow Wood) bt F Campbell (Clober) 1 hole, J Caldwell (Greenock) bt W Bryson (Drumpellier) 3 and 1, M Stein (Craigielaw) bt R Docherty (Bearsden) 4 and 3.

round two

J Ross (Royal Burgess) bt K McClung (Wigtownshire County) 7 and 6, G Carnie (Newburgh-on-Ythan) bt H Hamilton (Colville Park) 1 hole, G Dear (Murrayshall) bt T Rennie (Deeside) 2 and 1, S Gibson (Southerness) bt S Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 5 and 4, S Kennedy (Dumfries and County) bt J McColl (Scotscraig) 1 hole, R Graham (Hayston) bt J Wybar (Aldeburgh) 3 and 2, S Boyle (Harburn) bt D Young (Craigie Hill) 4 and 3, A Cappi (Carnoustie) bt G Munro (Ranfurly Castle) 1 hole, G Paterson (St Andrews New) bt A Dick (Kingsknowe) 3 and 1, M Campbell (Renfrew) bt C Heuchan (Colvend) 2 holes, C Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) bt G Lindsay (Mount Ellen) at the 20th hole, A Dunton (Meldrum House) bt S Spence (Irvine Bogside) 4 and 3, J MacKay (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt S Moffat (Alloa) 5 and 4, K McNicoll (Carnoustie) bt N McBride (Cowglen) 4 and 2, P O’Hara (Colville Park) bt A Bews (Murcar Links) 4 and 2, M Cunningham (Craigielaw) bt G Duncan (Carnoustie) 2 and 1, J McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt M Ferries (Tain) 5 and 4. E Kennedy (Stonehaven) bt R Thornton (USA) at the 25th hole, B Brooks (Meldrum House) bt A Culverwell (Dunbar) at the 19th hole, M Hamilton (Woking) bt M Collin (Eyemouth) 1 hole.