(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Perhaps the Silver Medal, as awarded to the leading amateur at the Open Championship, should be presented with a health warning. Just ask Justin Rose; when tying fourth place at Royal Birkdale in 1998, the golfing world was his oyster.
Rose duly turned professional and missed 21 straight cuts. The Englishman's career has since blossomed € and some € following those troubled early days on tour, but his wounding experiences serve as a warning. Other Silver Medal winners € Lloyd Saltman, David Dixon, Stuart Wilson, Marius Thorp € have almost disappeared without trace. Tom Lewis, who led the Open after a 65 at Royal St George's four years ago, is only now making professional inroads.
There are alternative narratives. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy both excelled as amateur players in the Open. Yet the danger is clear; too much, too soon, and the sudden drop into the spotlight can prove damaging. Not least, that is, to a player's expectations.
While these pitfalls may exist, the concerted prominence of amateur golfers at the 144th Open Championship, as it belatedly concluded on Monday, was striking. Jordan Niebrugge took home the medal after tying sixth at 11 under par. Were the Oklahoma State University student a professional golfer, he would have claimed a serious six-figure prize.
An English amateur, Ashley Chesters, closed at nine under. Ollie Schniederjans matched that aggregate score. Neither of the pair finished a round over par.
The 22-year-old Irishman Paul Dunne made history by sharing the 54-hole lead at St Andrews, the first time such an Open feat had been achieved by a non-professional since Bobby Jones in 1927. Dunne's closing 78 disappointed him but he was still the envy of the amateur golfing world for an overnight spell. Hopefully, he focuses on that.
Romain Langasque, the British amateur champion, would probably have snapped someone's hand off if offered four rounds € of 69, 72, 71 and 74 € before the Open began. As it transpired, he was the poor relation of the five when still under par.
Surprise over this depth of amateur performance is legitimate even if, evidence would suggest, the gap to professional golf has never been smaller. The fact they can handle venues such as the Old Course at all less so. A host of prominent amateur events are hosted on links courses, more so than in the professional game, with American players like Niebrugge and Schniederjans making it their business to learn this aspect of the game. It was notable during the recent Irish Open that Graeme McDowell conceded he had "forgotten" how to master the links game which formed such a firm backdrop to his pre-professional days.
So what happens next? Schniederjans, once the top-ranked amateur in the world, will turn professional immediately, featuring in this weekend's Canadian Open. Needless to say, the plain sweater he wore in Scotland will disappear. Before doing so, he offered an explanation as to why the college system in the United States € of which Dunne is also a part € is beneficial to golfers.
"You have to learn how to handle so much, stay organised, and then you go around and you travel and you play some very difficult courses, set up very difficult," he said. "They put the pins tough. You play in tough conditions. You play tough courses against the other best amateurs in the world, and you also have to handle your school obligations.
"You've got to learn how to manage your life and when you're done with school, it feels like: 'This is easy, I can manage everything else in life, I don't have to do schoolwork.' So I think that really prepares these guys."
Schniederjans has no regrets over retaining amateur status to perform in the US Open € where he also made the cut € and the Open. "I really wanted these experiences in two majors, and I'm absolutely thrilled that I decided to do that," he added. "I think it's developed my game. I think it's developed me, they were incredible experiences.
"I've become really comfortable around all these guys. I've made good friends with some of the best players in the world."
Niebrugge insists he will complete his final year of business studies, and he may well come up against Chesters and Dunne at the Walker Cup. That duo have targeted turning professional after the September event at Royal Lytham & St Anne's. Chesters is only the third amateur in 20 years to qualify for back-to-back Opens.
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