Locke and Lee among ASI Scottish Open hopefuls at Longniddry

Sam Locke will have former European Tour player Craig Lee among his rivals when the 19-year-old amateur bids to make it a dream double in qualifying tests in East Lothian this weekend.

Locke, the current Scottish Amateur champion from Stonehaven, has already secured his spot in the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie after winning Tuesday's final qualifier at The Renaissance Club.

Now he's aiming to help get himself prepared for that major debut by also coming through a similar two-round shoot-out at Longniddry for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane.

Locke is among 127 hopefuls vying for four spots in the $7 million Rolex Series event, with the qualifier once again being supported by both Aberdeen Standard Investments and    VisitScotland.

"It would be pretty cool to come through this one as well and play in these two events back- to-back," admitted Locke, who shot rounds of 69 and 66 to come out on top at The Renaissance Club by a shot from Challenge Tour player Grant Forrest.

Locke's dad Andrew is a PGA pro who is based at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre outside Aberdeen, where Sam not only does a lot of his practising but also works in the coffee shop.

He's part of the Paul Lawrie Foundation and is mentored by Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion. ‘I’ve had a lot of help from Paul," admitted Locke. "I’ve been supported by him for a number of years and he’s been helping me a lot with my course management, as well.

‘It’s brilliant to have a guy like that to turn to - and I’ll definitely be asking him about Carnoustie.

"My dad has also been a massive influence on me. He’s coached me since I was three, since I first picked up a club, and I see him all the time at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre."

While Locke heads into the Longniddry event knowing his game is in good shape, Lee has no real idea what to expect as this will be his first competitive test since last October.

The 41-year-old held a European Tour card for five years and finished a career-best 59th in the Race to Dubai in 2013, the year he lost to Thomas Bjorn in a play-off for the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.

He then missed out on holding on to his status by one spot at the end of the 2016 season, played a bit on both the Challenge Tour and European Tour last year but has been missing in action so far this season.

"I really did intend to play a wee bit in Scotland this year but I've been so busy working as a builder," said Lee, a multiple Deer Park Masters winner in his spell on the Tartan Tour.

"That's why I've not teed up in anything but I decided that if I was going to play in something to see where my game is at, I might as well try and qualify for the Scottish Open.

"I think I have only played three times since the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama in October, which is not a lot when you are trying to compete against guys playing all the time.

"Having said that, I've hit a lot of golf balls in my golf studio at the house as I can go in there in my pyjamas and with a bottle of wine.

"I've been working on a few things. Whether my game is ready or not, only time will tell. I'll find out, I suppose, this weekend."

Other hopefuls include Craig Lawrie, who will be hoping to reproduce the form that saw him win an event at Longniddry last weekend with a four-under-par 64.

"I played great in that round and more of the same would do nicely on Saturday and Sunday," said the 23-year-old, Paul's eldest son.

* Admission to the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open qualifier is free.