Zane Scotland looks to resurrect career at St. Andrews

Eleven years ago the golfing community watched on with excitement as Zane Scotland became the youngest ever player to qualify for The Open Championships. Few would have predicted this talented youngster would have to wait until 2010 for his second appearance at a major.

Scotland had first come to attention winning a national competition to find the next Tiger Woods. After his first appearance at Carnoustie, aged just 16, his amateur career heralded nothing but success. He not only climbed to number one in the world but also won the Spanish and Portuguese titles.

Having turned professional in 2003, disaster struck in the form of a car accident as Scotland suffered a whiplash injury that would unsettle him for years to come. The next four years where spent trying to recover and playing on the challenger tour.

“After the accident there were times when I thought I would never get back to full fitness,” describes the 27-year-old. “It was incredibly frustrating as I knew that I had the game and that it was just a physical problem. The thing was I couldn’t trust my body and that really affected my game.”

It was a long road to recovery for Scotland who finally seemed to be regaining his form and confidence in 2007 when he qualified for the British Masters. Free from injury he finished the tournament tied for fourth place and was rewarded with a European tour card.

“I had been playing the challenger tour and managed to prequalify for the French Open. I had a good finish there and ended up getting a few invites that led to the British Masters event. I was really proud to get my card for the tour through doing well in invitational’s as that is how Paul Casey, Rory McIlroy and even Sergio Garcia first did it.”

Unfortunately for Scotland, injury struck once again. This time it was a serious problem with his wrist that halted his progress and stopped him from establishing himself on the tour. This would prove to be another tough period as yet again he found himself back on the challenger tour.

After this second major set back many golfers would contemplate their future. The challengers are not only competitive but are far less glamorous than the full-blown European circuit. Scotland, however, saw it as an opportunity to get back to basics.

“It can be really tough as you are by yourself with no fancy hotel rooms and no real support. You are there solely to hit the ball round the course and there are no other distractions so in that way it is good fun. It is what I call real golf.”

Finally finding himself injury free, Scotland has qualified for The Open for only the second time and now hopes to use the famous tournament as stepping stone. He will also be hoping to emulate his last appearance when he finished nine strokes ahead of Sergio Garcia.

“When I was coming through I played against a lot of the guys that are now at the top. It was tough as I knew that I had the game to compete with them and even beat them.

“Now I just hope to play well and if I have a good week then I have everything to gain. The first time I came here I simply soaked up the atmosphere, now I see it as an opportunity to get myself a place on the European tour.”

If Scotland can repeat the feat of beating Garcia by nine strokes then he is sure to have had a successful Open and be well on track to getting back his tour card. If anyone deserves a bit of good fortune, it is Zane Scotland.

Zane Scotland wears PUMA golf apparel, available from www.trendygolf.com