Derek McLachlan

Derek 'Mack' McLachlan (born April 24, 1935) is a Scottish professional golfer. His rise to local folklore in Portrush came due to his fantastic opening 3 rounds as an amateur in the 1951 British Open he turned professional shortly after but his professional career was largely unsuccessful.

Early years

Born and raised in St Andrews, he grew up playing golf at the Old Course at St Andrews. He attended Bob Murray's high school in St Andrews. At the age of 11 he travelled around Scotland with his father in their horse and cart, hustling golfers in long drive contests. Some of his drives at this age were recorded at close to 300 yards.

Amateur golf highlights

At the age of 16 he qualified for the 1951 British Open and played golf with such style and flair that he won the hearts of the local crowd. Locals still talk of him pulling out his driver whilst in the bushes with only 30 yards to the green, he intentionally drove a low flying shot into the ridge before the green which then popped up and finished inches from the pin. He led by 3 strokes going into the final round with a score of 5 under par. Unfortunately his colossal hitting of the ball proved to be his downfall, as he drove out of bounds twice on the last day to finish tied for 8th place, spectators said if he hadn't hit the ball so far he would have won the championship as he drove right through the back of a par 4 and out of bounds on one occasion.

ee also

*List of people from Scotland