Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship

BUCKPOOL BOYS THE BEST AT MURCAR LINKS
AS THEY HEAD QUALIFIERS FOR CARDRONA

Dylan Lawson and Edward Campbell (pictured left) from Buckpool GC were more than a match for the testing conditions at Murcar Links as they cruised to victory in the north final of the Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship.

Lawson – a very capable 15 handicapper – and Campbell, playing off 5, paired up to perfection with an excellent better ball score of 63, eight under the card. Three consecutive birdies from the second set the ball rolling and two more birdies at holes 7 and 8 put the duo out in five under.

Two more birdies came on the 10th and the 13th, and Lawson’s two at the tricky 16th sealed a memorable round and top spot in the North regional final.
Elgin’s David Hector and Kevin Prosser (pictured above right) clinched the runners-up spot and their place in the final with a fine six under par 65. Prosser got the duo of to a dream start with an opening birdie three, which was followed up with his partner’s two at the 5th. Highlight of the round was two handicapper Hector’s superb eagle three at the 14th and they parred in from there to complete a great round of golf.
Host club Murcar Links kept up their fine record in Belhaven qualifying events ending the day in third place on 66, having set the early pace in the first group out. The partnership of David Leighton and Charles McKen had a fairly ordinary front nine of level par, before setting the inward half alight with five birdies to come home in 30.
Fifers Drumoig also fired an excellent 66, with Sean Anderson and Fraser Mackay teaming up well to finish in fourth spot, edging out near neighbours St Michaels in after their four under tally of 67. Alisdair McGowan and John McKenzie, representing Durness in the final game of the day, also shot a 66 to take fifth spot and book a place in the final.
Early morning sunshine was replaced by strengthening winds and rain making scoring difficult for the late afternoon groups. The tricky conditions were reflected in the top fifteen cut mark, which eventually fell at level par 71. Iverallochy and St Fillans clinched the final two spots on that mark, edging out 5 other clubs on the better inward half countback.
The final takes place in two weeks time at Macdonald Cardrona near Peebles on Friday 14th September with TV coverage on Setanta Sports.
Listed below are the Top 15 qualifiers from the Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship (North Final) at Murcar Links.
1 Buckpool 63
2 Elgin 65
3 Murcar Links 66
4 Drumoig 66
5 Durness 66
6 St Michaels 67
7 Brora 68
8 Ballater 68
9 Edzell 69
10 Tarbat 69
11 Burntisland 69
12 Deeside 70
13 Nairn Dunbar 70
14 Inverallochy 71
15 St Fillans 71