SCOTS amateur Connor Syme admits he can’t wait to make his Open championship debut alongside John Daly – and revealed he was only a few days old when the American lifted the Claret Jug at St Andrews in 1995. Syme, a one-time Rangers youth prospect, will tee it up at Royal Birkdale on Thursday morning with Australia’s Adam Bland and the man known as Wild Thing. And the 22 year-old could not his enthusiasm at the prospect.

He said: “I just saw the draw and it’s cool, I can’t wait. A former champ, I’m really looking forward to that. The year he won I was born around that time. I was probably about ten days old or something!

“You’ve seen him through the years and he has just won again on the Seniors Tour. It’s good to see him back playing and I’ll be able to pick his brains about some of the events he has played in down the years and the things he has won.

“My swing is a little shorter than his, he’s got a fair bit of torque, hasn’t he? I can’t wait to see him hit it because he still looks like he is bombing it on the Seniors Tour. It should be class. It will be incredible to play with him. We’ll probably get a gallery and that should be good.

“I have a practice round with Paul Lawrie tomorrow as well, two former champions, you can’t beat that. I wasn’t sure, being a qualifier, if I would be at the back end of the times.”

Syme hopes playing with Daly will help ensure he returns for the weekend. He added: “Every amateur is striving to win the Silver Medal, that’s a target. And making the cut is one of my other goals as well, to be here for the four days.”