In the six years since The Open was last held at Royal Portrush, Connor Graham has packed so much into his young career, the Blairgowrie teenager probably has to pay an excess baggage charge.
Back in 2019, Graham was just 12 and lined up alongside his dad, Stuart, and big brother, Gregor, in the qualifying rounds for the Scottish Amateur Championship at Crail.
“I was the only one to miss the cut out of the three of us, but I was only 12 so I had an excuse,” said Graham with a smile.
Here in 2025, Graham is gearing up for an Open Championship debut. Over the past few seasons, the 18-year-old has won the Scottish Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship and the Junior Open, he has helped Europe win the Junior Ryder Cup and he became the youngest player, at 16, to compete in the Walker Cup.
“I would say I’ve come a long way,” added the young Scot as he reflected on the kind of rapid rise that would give most folk the bends.
An Open outing will be another significant milestone. Having earned his place in the final men’s major of the year the hard way – he stood firm in a play-off at final qualifying at Dundonald to nab a tee-time – Graham is ready embrace his major moment.
There’s a lot to absorb, of course. The stands are vast, the crowds are huge and building every day, the best players in the world are parading about and the Scottish golf writers are lurking in the dunes looking for a quick chinwag.
“I’m just trying to take it in,” added Graham, the first Blairgowrie member to play in The Open since Bradley Neil teed-up in the 2014 showpiece as the Amateur champion.
“It’s important to manage everything. Some people could come here and think, ‘it's a major week, so I’ll have to try to hit as many balls as I can and try to play as much as I can’.
“But it's a long week as you get here early so you have to save your energy for the tournament and the golf test. It's all very different to what I’m normally playing in week-in, week-out.
“The course is very tough, it's very demanding off the tee. It's difficult to get away with a lot of stuff and you have be really good off the tee to be able to score well.
“But it’s really cool to be here. Who doesn't want to play an Open? It’s the one everybody wants to be in.”
Graham, who has just completed his first year at US college in Texas, is a member of the Paul Lawrie Foundation.
Lawrie, of course, came through a final qualifier at Downfield back in 1999 and went on to lift the Claret Jug at Carnoustie a few days later. “That’s definitely an inspiration for me,” said Graham.
There’s nothing wrong with aiming high in this game. Since the college term finished, Graham has packed a fair bit in.
He played in the Palmer Cup, then returned to this side of the pond for the Amateur Championship, the European Amateur Championship and the Open final qualifier.
It’s been a hectic spell, but Graham has energised himself for his Open experience with a few days off last week. Well, in a fashion. The clubs are never far from his grasp.
“I've not got much else to do other than play golf, so I always do a little bit of practice to keep things sharp,” he said.
“If I wasn’t playing golf then I’d be lying on the couch just watching some TV.”
Graham has some Caledonian company this week in the shape of fellow amateur, Cameron Adam, Robert MacIntyre and Daniel Young.
It’s 10 years now since Young lost to MacIntyre in the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship at Muirfield.
In that time, MacIntyre has enjoyed the kind of lift-off you’d get with a vessel of space exploration and the Oban lefty is now 14th in the world.
Young, meanwhile, is plotting his own route up the golfing order and back-to-back top-three finishes on the second-tier HotelPlanner Tour recently bolstered the Perth man’s push for promotion to the main DP World Tour.
An Open debut – he also came through the qualifier at Dundonald – and the chance to reacquaint himself with MacIntyre has been a nice addition to the diary.
“There will be no hard feelings if I can turn around my career into what he (MacIntyre) has done so far,” chuckled Young as he reflected on that Scottish Amateur showdown in 2015.
“Golf is ruthless. Everybody's where they are for a reason. I'm on the HotelPlanner Tour for a reason. Bob's where he is for a reason. You’ve just got to work your way up the ladder.”
An Open Championship is a nice rung on that climb.
