O'Hara plans to turn pro

Steven O'Hara wants to be a Walker Cup winner

New Scottish men's amateur golf champion Steven O'Hara is planning to turn professional at the end of next season.

He is waiting to make the move so he can be selected for the 2001 Walker Cup match in the United States.

The 20-year-old winner of the Johnnie Walker Scottish men's amateur matchplay title is already likely to be pencilled in for that squad by the Great Britain & Ireland selectors.

They have named the Motherwell youngster in a four-man team to defend the Eisenhower Trophy in Berlin at the end of the month.

I've never been more nervous in a match

  Steven O'Hara

O'Hara has already abandoned plans to take up a two-year golf scholarship in Texas in the autumn as he feels being out of the country might jeopardise his Walker Cup selection prospects.

The winner of the Scottish and British boys' titles in 1998, he added the national championship to his collection at the weekend.

He beat defending champion, 23-year-old Craig Heap (East Kilbride) in a 36-hole final that went all the way before O'Hara won by one hole.

O'Hara was four up after only six holes but he could never subdue Heap who kept coming back at him until he finally reduced the deficit to one hole with a birdie at the 32nd.

But Heap was held at bay over the last four holes, each of them halved.

"I've never been more nervous in a match, not even playing for Great Britain & Ireland in the St Andrews Trophy match recently," said O'Hara.

Home internationals

"If I hadn't holed a 15ft putt for a half at the 33rd, Craig would have been back to all square and anything could have happened after that."

Heap sits his final architectural examinations in September and the clash of dates means he will not be able to play for Scotland in the home internationals at Carnoustie.

"My immediate reaction after losing to Steven was one of great disappointment that I had failed to win the Scottish title two years in a row," said Heap.

"But I'm sure that eventually I will be able to look back and feel quite chuffed that I got very close to doing it."