Carnoustie ready for Amateur Championship

• Carnoustie preparing to host Amateur Championship for fifth time
• Last held there in 1992, where winner was Scot Stephen Dundas
• Tournament is first of many to be held there over the next few years

Carnoustie is shaping up to host 288 of the world’s best amateur golfers as the 120th staging of the Amateur Championship heads to Angus in June.

It will be the fifth time that Carnoustie has staged the prestigious R&A run event, having first visited the Championship course in 1947, with qualifying also taking place at neighbouring Panmure.

The last time the Links played host to the tournament was 1992, where Scot Stephen Dundas won on home soil and, after 18-year-old Blairgowrie golfer Bradley Neil captured the title last year at Royal Portrush, Scottish golf fans will no doubt be hoping for more success in 2015.

Previous Amateur Championships have seen some of golf’s greatest names, such as past champions Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia, announce themselves on the world stage and providing the winner maintains his amateur status, invitations to three of the four major championships await, namely the following month’s Open Championship as well as the following year’s Masters and US Open.

“It is both an honour and a privilege for Carnoustie to play host to this historical event” – Graeme Duncan

Graeme Duncan, general manager of the Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee, said: “The Amateur Championship remains one of the world’s foremost amateur competitions and it is both an honour and a privilege for Carnoustie to play host to this historical event.”

The Championship course is often regarded as one of the sternest test of links golf in the world, 6,941 yards in length and set over firm, undulating links land, it is a course that examines every aspect of a player’s game. The record is 64 and is currently held by Richard Green, Steve Stricker, Colin Montgomerie, Alan Tait and Shane Lowry.

The course is overseen by superintendent Sandy Reid and he said: “The Championship course is shaping up wonderfully and is set to be in the very best of condition for the tournament.

“The mat policy that we enforce throughout the winter months minimises damage to the course, and means we are able to provide a tough test of golf on a superbly conditioned course.”

This year’s Amateur Championship is the first of several prestigious tournaments being held at Carnoustie over the next three years.

The 2016 Seniors Open Championship will be played over the famed Scottish links for the second time, while the Open Championship returns for an eighth time in 2018.

Check out this fantastic gallery of photos from the Open Championship venue: