Dalmuir Golf Course Club Pro Stewart Savage competed at the Senior Open last week at Carnoustie.

The 50-year-old finished on 10 over after finishing the first day with an impressive score of +1 in difficult conditions.

He said: “I got a good draw. I was drawn at 7.30am on the Thursday so I was thinking that was good, I could get going before the crowd gets there.

“I hadn’t played at this level for a long time and I got drawn with Jerry Pate, which was fantastic.

“He was the 1976 US Open champion, and Magnus Persson Atlevi, who eventually finished third, so it was a great draw.

“The first day I played nice and shot one over, which was pretty good. I was pretty nervous as I walked up the first hole.

“I bogeyed that but then I birdied the second and that settled the nerves a wee bit and I set up quite a conservative plan for the course.

“I didn’t want to try and attack too much, and just play smart as the course is difficult.

“It’s a great course with a bit of strategy required so I was absolutely buzzing after the first round.

“I was playing with some big names and it was great, I just enjoyed it.

“The second day I didn’t really get going.

“I made a terrible double on 6 – I got stuck in a bunker and tried to play a smart pitch but it didn’t come off and I made a double.”

Savage qualified late for the Senior Open, and with little time to prepare he had only one thing on his mind, to head to his work.

He added: “Being a club pro I had to go and make sure that the club was ok, and it was a bit daunting, you don’t know what to expect.

“I’ve not played at that level for a long, long time and so I got the shop organised, sorted everything out on Tuesday morning and then headed up to Carnoustie in the evening.

“I managed to get 10 holes in and I got a practice round on the Wednesday. The course was closed in the morning because of thunder and lightning.”

And Savage hopes to compete in more events like this in the future.

He said: “It was a fantastic experience and I really enjoyed it – it got the competitive juices flowing again.

“I’m off to play in the British Club Pros this week. I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve got my appetite back and I really enjoy playing and coaching at Dalmuir – I’ve been there for 22 years now. Golf’s been my life and I’ve been quite fortunate that my job is my hobby.”