Sam Binning felt the spirit of his late grandfather in spectacular fashion on the famous 14th of the King’s Course in the opening round of the Gleneagles Scottish Professional Championship yesterday.
Auchterarder resident and Gleneagles member Thomas Sneddon introduced his grandson Sam to golf at the Perthshire Hotel, and his final wish before he passed away last year was for his family to scatter his ashes close to the short par four, his favourite hole on the King’s.
And when Sam played it for the first time yesterday since his granddad died, with mum Karen caddying for him, he managed an eagle two to finish one shot off the lead after the delayed first round.
“It’s a special place for my family, it was my grandad’s favourite hole on the King’s and he loved Gleneagles,” said Sam. “He lived just beside the third tee at Auchterarder and played here for more than 40 years.
“He introduced me to golf on the wee course here. That was a pretty fantastic thing to happen on that hole of all places, where he asked for his ashes to go, and my Mum was getting a wee bit emotional.”
Sam hit a three wood into 10 feet for his two at the 14th and added a second eagle at the 18th to finish on four-under, just a stroke behind leaders Christopher Currie and Greig Hutcheon.
Binning is his first full year as a professional and is aiming to mix the Tartan Tour and the EuroPro Tour this year.
“I’d like to play a full schedule here in Scotland because I’m really still just finding my feet playing for money,” he said. “My mum still likes to caddy for me if I play in Scotland and she’s done it all the way through my amateur career.”
Binning initially struggled on the front nine into the wind, as did former champion David Orr, and both men were three-over after six before fighting back for four-under 67s.
2009 winner Orr, now the pro at Eastwood in Glasgow, is setting up a teaching academy there while also heavily involved in Scottish Golf Union coaching, meaning he hadn’t played a round in six months and estimates he’s hit just 300 balls in practice in that time.
Currie, now 33, has had chances to win the national title here before and like everyone else struggled initially before picking up birdies at 16, 17 and 18 while Hutcheon, the champion in 1999 and 2013, finished birdie-birdie-eagle coming back in six-under figures.
“It’s a bit strange playing the national championship this early in the year, your first event, but it’s a pretty good start to the season,” he said after holing a 40 footer from the back of the 18th green for eagle.
Former champion Paul Lawrie, playing the championship for the first time in a decade, four-putted the first and three-putted two more on the front nine, but still played “beautifully” to come in with a one-under 70.
“I couldn’t get to grips with the greens at all, but it’s early season in Scotland so what can you expect,” he said. “Tee to green was as good as I’ve been all year so it’s still encouraging, even though I wasn’t a very happy man going to the second tee.”
Leading first round scores
66 C Currie (Caldwell), G Hutcheon (Paul Lawrie GC)
67 D Orr (Eastwood), S Binning (Mearns Castle), G Hay (Nairn Dunbar)
69 G Fox (Clydeway)
70 P McKechnie (Braid Hills), C Sutherland (Cherry Lodge), C Robinson (Portpatrick Dunskey), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR), K McNicoll (Gullane), C Farrell (Cardoss), R Rafferty (Monte Rei G&CC), P Lawrie (Carnegie Club)
71 J Lomas (Caprington), A Oldcorn (Kings Acre), A Duncan (Golf Moray), G Wright (West Linton), F Dunlop (Gleneagles Hotel), J McCreadie (Largs), N Fenwick (Dunbar), S Henderson (Kings Links), C Ronald (Carluke), P Robinson (Largs), M Loftus (Mearns Castle)
72 M Kerr (Marriott Dalmahoy), A Good (Gullane), K Hutton (Downfield), G Dingwall (Royal Dornoch), S McAllister (S McAllister Golf), C Robinson (Elie Links), S Gray (Hayston), G Brown (Montrose Goilf Links), F Mann (Carnoustie Golf Club)