Scotland’s three-man team all shot well under par as they dominated the opening day of the World Amateur Men’s Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy in Mexico.
Drumoig’s Connor Syme leads the individual event after a 66 in the first round while Grant Forrest shot 68, enough to put the Scots two shots clear of Spain at the head of the team standings.
Only the top two scores count for the team event and Robert MacIntyre’s non-counting 69 leaves all three of the Scots team inside the top eight of the individual standings after the first day at Riviera Maya.
Syme, unbeaten when Scotland took the European team title back in July, said he was “delighted to get off to a good start.
“Grant shot four under as well to put us at ten under so it has been awesome for the team to have such a good day,” he said.
“I felt good on the range this morning and was happy with how I was hitting the ball. I was five under through the front nine, I just kept going and was hitting the ball really well.
“The course didn’t play any easier though, it’s a demanding course off the tee. The key was to get it right off the tee and then it would give you some chances.
“There’s a few par fives you can get up on and my strength today was accuracy off the tee, so I had a lot of good opportunities.”
Team captain Clare Queen was pleased with the opening day’s performance.
“They’ve prepared really well and prepared for the hot conditions,” she said. “The guys had a few days in Orlando last week in similar conditions so they know what to expect.
“They feel relaxed and they’re on good form so hopefully they can keep it going for the next few days.
“The players know they have a good chance to do well here and they are all pretty highly ranked in the world. It’s been a really good first day and that will give them more belief for the remainder of the championships.”
Scotland first won the Eisenhower Trophy in 2008 when Wallace Booth, Gavin Dear and Callum Macaulay won in Australia. Prior to 2002 Scotland had been part of the Great Britain amnd Ireland team.
