Golf: Hillson eyes Walton Heath

CRAIGIELAW'S Mark Hillson, who reached the quarter-finals in the recent Amateur Championship, is skipping the next two Scottish Order of Merit events.

"I'm not playing in either the Cameron Corbett Vase at Haggs Castle this weekend or the Sutherland Chalice at Dumfries & Galloway the following weekend," he said.

"I'm going to get some practice in over the next couple of weeks instead before heading down to Walton Heath to play in the South of England Open Amateur Championship."

After that, Hillson will head for Royal Troon, the venue for this year's Scottish Amateur Championship, an event that James Byrne will definitely be one of the players to beat.

Hillson was in the East of Scotland Open field destroyed by Byrne at Lundin last weekend and admitted: "His scoring was obscene, particularly on the first day and it was no surprise that a lot of us were talking about it."