Perthshire’s Amateur golf champion Bradley Neil is heading for America later this week to start preparing for his dream US Masters debut.
The 18-year-old from Blairgowrie, who claimed the Amateur title at Royal Portrush last summer, will get the chance to play Augusta National in the coming days, before teeing up in one of the world’s strongest stroke play amateur events, the Jones Cup.
Neil, along with caddy Phil McKenna, also a Blairgowrie member, will play and practice at the Golf Club of Georgia, where he’ll return the week before the Masters to meet Gunn Yang, the US Amateur champion, in the annual Georgia Cup match between the respective amateur winners.
He’ll then head to Augusta National and spend two days playing and practising at one of the most iconic venues in golf, before continuing through Georgia to Sea Island for the Jones Cup Invitational.
Neil said: “The Jones Cup is a really strong stroke play tournament, so I’ll be competing against a lot of the top American players and that will give me idea about how much the hard work I’ve put in this winter has paid off. I don’t get that many opportunities to compete against them.
“The SGU used to take players to the Jones Cup in the past and I’m certainly delighted to be getting the chance to play in it. The whole trip ties in well with seeing Augusta for the first time.”
Neil is entitled to five official days at Augusta before the event itself in April.
He added: “It will be really incredible to go there, to walk into the place and see the hallowed ground for the first time.
“I’ve seen a lot of things on TV, but Augusta is an exceptional place in terms of the course and how exclusive it is. It’s going to be incredible to get the opportunity to not just be there but compete in the one tournament everyone talks about in the world.”