Scotland powers past Wolstenholme

Even on a day when the Gower peninsula is shrouded in cloud, Rest Bay, as the name suggests, provides a soothing backdrop to this most testing of links. It is one of the reasons Gary Wolstenholme loves this course, the scene of his victory over Tiger Woods in the 1995 Walker Cup. "That's what people talk about, of course," he said. They do when that person is Wolstenholme.

The chance of a second Amateur Championship title disappeared for Wolstenholme yesterday afternoon in the fourth round. He lost to Zane Scotland two and one as the 19-year-old from Surrey extended his unbeaten run to 22 matches. Scotland has had to work hard to reach the quarter-finals. Wolstenholme was his second Walker Cup victim after he beat Marc Warren on Wednesday, while in the morning he put out the South African Charl Schwartzel, also two and one.

Schwartzel, fourth in the St Andrews Links Trophy, did well to extend the match as far as the 17th given that Scotland made six birdies in eight holes from the fifth. If this was a match between two possible future stars of the professional game, it was different in the afternoon.

Most of Wolstenholme's matches involve power versus willpower, with the veteran England international on the wily side. Scotland, outdriving his opponent by up to 65 yards, was in command after going three-up after four and with the wind getting up, it was the bogeys he did not make that were all-important.

In trouble off the 13th tee, he holed from 35 feet to win the hole with a par when Wolstenholme failed to get up and down from the rough. Wolstenholme got back to two-down at the next but three-putted the 15th to halve against Scotland's only bogey after the youngster left his first bunker shot in the sand.

This morning Scotland plays another 19-year-old, Alejandro Larrazabal, who betrayed his Spanish pedigree by hitting only one fairway. The day's best scoring came from Graham Gordon, of Newmachar, who played the par-fives in 12 under with two eagles and two birdies in each round.