Scotland's top amateurs head to Royal Dornoch

The stunning Royal Dornoch links hosts the Scottish Amateur Championship next week, with Scotland's leading amateurs chasing one of the most coveted prizes in the domestic game.

Following the success of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stewart and GB&I's superb Curtis Cup triumph, Royal Dornoch - an Old Tom Morris course - will welcome 256 amateurs representing more than 130 golf clubs from across Scotland.

European Tour golfer Steven O'Hara reigned supreme when the tournament was last staged at Dornoch in 2000, with Dean Robertson prevailing in the first playing of the SGU's flagship event at the Highland links in 1993.

Robertson, who caddied for championship hopeful Jack McDonald during the Scottish Open, believes the venue will produce a worthy champion.

"It's a true players' course and, having been to the course recently, it demands playing very well from tee to green, with the rough being very severe," he said.

"Jack McDonald will have a great chance of victory having played so much matchplay golf recently, and he's learned a lot from his experiences of playing alongside guys like Francesco Molinari and Ernie Els.

"He has a great short game, is a very straight driver and he's maturing all the time," added Robertson, Performance Golf Coach at the University of Sterling.

Aberdonian David Law made history by claiming a second Scottish Amateur title in the space of three years last year at Western Gailes but, having turned professional, will not be able to defend his title.

Brian Soutar, who won the South African Amatuer Championship earlier this season, is seeded two, with McDonald and Paul Ferrier ranked third and fourth seeds respectively.

The tournament - which is free to attend - starts on Monday July 30, with the 36-hole final taking place on Saturday August 4.

Live scoring and regular updates are available throughout the week at www.scottishgolf.org.