by Martin Dempster

AS RICH breeding grounds go, the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down takes a bit of beating in the last decade or so.

And not just because it featured a certain Rory McIlroy. The winning American side in the shadow of the Mountains of Mourne included Webb Simpson, the reigning US Open champion, as well as Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Chris Kirk and Kyle Stanley, all currently inside the world’s top 100.

In addition to world No 1 McIlroy, four other members of the Great Britain & Ireland team – Rhys Davies, David Horsey, John Parry and Danny Willett – have also gone on to become European Tour winners and it’s still to be hoped that Lloyd Saltman can eventually add his name to that list, too.

Bold as the statement may now appear, Saltman headed into that encounter in Northern Ireland looking every bit as promising as McIlroy, having been one of the dominant forces on the amateur scene over a period of time and also showing he wasn’t scared of the big occasion by finishing in a tie for 15th behind Tiger Woods in the 2005 Open Championship at St Andrews.

Yet, as McIlroy prepares for take two with his new Nike clubs in next week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, Saltman will launch his 2013 campaign in the somewhat less glamorous setting of Karen Golf Club in Nairobi, venue for this week’s Barclays Kenya Open on the Challenge Tour. Having finished 181st in last year’s Race to Dubai, the second-tier circuit is where Saltman will probably find himself playing exclusively this season. His aim will be to finish in the top 15 in the money-list to earn a place at the top table in European golf, a privilege he’s only enjoyed once in his five seasons in the paid ranks.

In the first of those, in 2008, he finished sixth in the Russian Open and, two seasons ago, he recorded a brace of top tens only for an untimely injury to effectively cost him his card. It left him having to split his schedule between the main Tour and the Challenge circuit last year and, though he came close to winning on the latter when being pipped by compatriot Chris Doak, it seems as though he’s going to have to learn how to swallow his pride before his career can start taking off again.

It’s a similar position to the one Marc Warren found himself in a couple of seasons ago. Not surprisingly when you’ve won two European Tour titles on your own and teamed up with Colin Montgomerie to land Scotland’s first World Cup triumph, Warren hated finding himself back on the Challenge Tour after losing his card yet he took the medicine and is now back where he belongs.

Saltman has all the attributes to be there, too, and let’s hope he comes out with all guns blazing in Africa on Thursday. According to coach Colin Brooks, the 27-year-old’s enthusiasm and desire are as strong as ever and, based on the fact Stephen Gallacher was 29 when he made his Tour breakthrough, he believes the best years can also still lie ahead for Saltman.

“What Lloyd achieved as an amateur is done and dusted – it’s finished,” said Brooks, who preceded Colin Montgomerie as Scottish Amateur champion in 1996 before being one of the leading players himself on the Challenge circuit when it was known as the Satellite Tour. “It’s about moving forward now as a professional and, along with everyone else, Lloyd has to earn the right to be on the European Tour.

“I think he is a main Tour player and even last year his form was better on that than the Challenge Tour. It’s difficult to put a finger on why he hasn’t produced the goods so far on that, but it’s certainly not a technical thing as we’ve tracked his swing throughout his career and we both feel it is better than it’s ever been. If that’s the case, then it is purely psychological and hopefully this season Lloyd can regain the knack of winning he had as an amateur and kick-on as he certainly has a big game. For starters, he hits it a mile, which is always useful in the modern-day game, while his short game, a perceived weakness, is much better. We’ve changed how he hits his short wedges so that shots from 100 yards in are not as destructive as they had become.”

Six years on from that star-studded Walker Cup, the Kenya Open, Scottish Hydro Challenge and Kazakhstan Open may not necessarily be the stages Saltman wants to be on. Yet those sort of events have proved launching pads for plenty people that have secured footholds on the European Tour and the ball is now in his court to vindicate the belief those like myself still have in him.

Lloyd Saltman is keen to shake off any disappointment after two bogeys on the final two holes cost him a first European Challenge Tour win in Lyon last week and is taking the positives as he looks to go a step better at this week’s D+D Real Czech Challenge Open.

Three former amateur starlets will battle it out in the final group at the ALLIANZ Open de Lyon as Scotland’s Lloyd Saltman takes the lead into the final day, a shot clear of fellow former Walker Cup player Sam Hutsby and record-breaking ex-US Amateur Champion Byeong-hun An.

LLOYD Saltman stormed into a share of second spot behind world No 3 Lee Westwood after carding an eight-under-par 64 – the lowest score of his European Tour career – in yesterday’s second round of the Nordea Masters i

LLOYD Saltman stormed into a share of second spot behind world No 3 Lee Westwood after carding an eight-under-par 64 – the lowest score of his European Tour career – in yesterday’s second round of the Nordea Masters in Sweden. The sparkling effort was sparked by an albatross 2 at Saltman’s third hole of the day – the 12th, where he holed a 3-iron from 237 yards.
“It was straight at it,” said the Scot afterwards.

“I heard a little clap and then there was a big roar as I started walking, so I knew it must have gone in.”

It helped Saltman move to nine under for the tournament – three shots behind leader Westwood after he also signed for a 64. “I felt really comfortable out there and hit some nice shots,” added the 2005 Open Silver Medal winner. “I got the putter working better as well today. It is my lowest round on the European Tour, so you can only take confidence from that.”
Saltman was joined by local favourite Peter Hanson and Spain’s Carlos Del Moral at nine under. Hanson had a double bogey at the 11th but recovered with three birdies in his next four holes. “I didn’t strike the ball as well as I would have hoped and 68 was a good result,” said the 2008 champion.

Published in The Scotsman on Friday 8 June 2012 

They turned professional on the same day in 2007 and were good pals and rivals in the amateur game, but Lloyd Saltman and Rory McIlroy have veered off in different directions.

LLOYD SALTMAN, who stood alongside Tiger Woods when he won the Silver Medal in The Open at St Andrews in 2005, relished rubbing shoulders with another world star in the final round of the Barclays Scottish Open.
The Archerfield ace played with Phil Mickelson on the last day of the weather-hit event at Castle Stuart in Inverness. And he was on course to beat the world No.6 until the American “moved up a gear” with a burst of birdies around the turn.

It was great draw and I had a great day,” said Saltman after closing the £3 million event, won by world No.1 Luke Donald, with a third successive 70 to finish on six-under – one behind his playing partner.

“When I was looking on Friday after both our scores came in, I was hoping that I would be playing with Phil.

“It worked out well as it was a great experience, as was playing with Jeev Milka Singh (the third member in the group).

“I was trying to watch Phil as much as I could and pick up a few things.”

Saltman was ahead of Mickelson on the leaderboard until the former Masters champion produced a spurt with four birdies in a row from the 18th after they’d started at the tenth.

“I was out there trying to focus on my own game and shot a couple of under which was a bit disappointing but, at the same time, three 70s was solid,” added Saltman.

“He almost just turned it on when he had those four birdies in a row, one of them after a great up and down from a bunker at the second.

“He was great to play with and was very chatty, both him and his caddie ‘Bones’ (Jim Mackay). It was good fun out there with them.”

Saltman picked up a cheque for just over £7300 but dropped a spot to 107th in the Race to Dubai. “I was trying to get that spot in The Open but that would have been a bonus, to be honest, and it wasn’t to be,” he added.

“After seven events in a row, I think I probably need a rest and I’m looking forward to chilling out for three or four days before getting back to practising and getting myself ready for Sweden.”

from The Scotsman 11 July 2011
By MARTIN DEMPSTER