Weekend of very low scoring over Leven Links

BULLY FOR BRIAN! HOME COURSE

MAN SOUTAR WINS STANDARD LIFE

LEVEN GOLD MEDAL

Home course man Brian Soutar, 24^th in the Scottish amateur rankings and 27^th in the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit, was the surprise winner today of the Standard Life Leven Gold Medal, the oldest amateur stroke-play tournament in the world.

No surprise to the locals, of course, because 23-year-old Brian, a recent graduate from Heriot Watt University, was fourth in the 72-hole championship last year and he was the Leven Golfing Society champion in 2003.

Brian finished with rounds of 66 67 66 and 67 for an 18-under-par total of 266 – three shots clear of third-round leader James White (Lundin) and former British boys champion Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh). White bogeyed the last hole for a closing par round of 71 to finish joint runner-up while Findlay double-bogeyed it for a 68. Jordan had actually overhauled White and was in second place until he ran up a 6 at the last.

Both Findlay and White received silver medals from the sponsors.

Gary Tough, the Letham Grange head greenkeeper and winner of the Craigmillar Park Open among other 72-holers, showed there's still a lot of life left in the "old dog." Gary finished joint fourth with Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) and former Scottish match-play champion Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) on 12-under-par 272.

Tough shot a six-under-par 65 in the final round and the only other man to do that was Wallace Booth (Comrie), winner of the Cameron Corbett Vase and the Tennant Cup this season and joint 15th in the Standard Life Leven Golf Medal final totals.

There was never a dull moment for Wallace over the weekend. The par-5 sixth hole, with its out of bounds fence down the right, cost him a 10 in the first round and a 9 in the second round. So that was nine over par two holes alone. That means he must have been 16 under par for the other 70 holes he played!

And Wallace and his Sunday playing partner Steven Hume (Murrayshall) somehow contrived to do a "Mark Rose-Jesper Parnevik" with their third-round scorecards - they forgot to exchange them and, of course, instead of filling each other's figures on the proper scorecards, they filled them in on the ones with their own names at the top of them.

It was only when they noticed that their individual scores had been reversed on the third-round scoreboard in the clubhouse that they realised something was wrong and went to see the organising officials.

Then the players' blunder in not exchanging cards was revealed to them.
Now, prior to the 2003 Open in which Mark Roe and Jasper Parevik did the same thing and were disqualified, Messrs Hume and Booth would have been disqualified too. But, apparently the R&A, in view of what happened, changed the rule covering this scorecards situation and made it the responsibility of the officials who check scorecards to spot this mistake and rectify.
So that's what the Leven Gold Medal officials did - they changed the names at the top of Booth and Hume's scorecards to make the scores fit the names. No disqualification. End of story. Wallace and Steven went out and enjoyed the fourth round.

Highlighting a weekend of low scoring over a green-looking Leven links course in its best condition for some time, there was a course-record nine-under-par 62 by Steven McEwan (Caprington) in a wind-free first round, two holes in one and a staggering 94 sub-par scores (29-25-23-17) over the four rounds,
That represents very good golf indeed over a par-71 course that is shortish by modern standards at 6,506yd but certainly not easy.

In Saturday's second round, Steven Rennie (Airdrie) aced the seventh (182yd) with a five iron. It was his third hole in one.

In Sunday's fourth round, Ryan McKenzie (Easter Moffat) had a hole in one with an eight iron at the 163yd fifth hole. It was his fifth ace – and the link between the two is they are golfing pals.

"Steven phoned me up on Saturday to tell me he had had a hole in one.

I can't wait to say to him 'Snap!" said Ryan.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71). 6,506yd.
266 B Soutar (Leven GS) 66 67 66 67.
269 J Findlay (Fraserburgh) 71 65 65 68, J White jun (Lundin) 65 67 66 71.
272 M Hillson (Craigielaw) 68 70 68 66, G Tough (Letham Grange) 68 69 70 65, G Campbell (Blairgowrie) 67 69 68 68.
274 R McCarthy (The Island, Dublin) 70 66 69 69, S Mann (Carnoustie) 68 67 68 71, R Dixon (Kilmarnock Barassie) 68 66 69 71..
275 L Miller (Cawder) 68 70 70 67, S McEwan (Caprington) 62 69 71 73..
276 G Paterson (St Andrews New) 72 67 68 69, M Main (Thornton) 74 65 65 72.
277 W Booth (Comrie) 70 71 71 65, S Rennie (Airdrie) 70 66 71 70, K Nicoll (Fraserburgh) 67 68 71 71..
278 R Kellett (Colville Park) 69 72 71 66, S Robertson (Sandyhills) 72 65 68 73.
279 R McKenzie (Easter Moffat) 72 71 69 67, D Martin (Longniddry) 71 70 68 70, A Main (Thornton) 68 71 69 71.
280 P O’Hara (Colville Park) 69 68 69 74.
281 C Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) 66 74 69 72.
283 B Fotheringham (Forres) 70 73 73 67, G Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 73 70 71 69, A Howard (Murrayshall) 69 73 69 72.
284 S Graham (Blairgowrie) 66 73 72 73.
285 M Lawrence (Newmachar) 70 73 68 74, J Welsh(Australia) 72 71 72 70, E Polson (Inverness) 69 73 70 73, G Robertson (Silverknowes) 69 69 72 75, Z Saltman (Craigielaw) 67 72 74 72.
286 J Laurie (Cowglen) 71 73 69 73, D Downie (Sutton, Dublin) 72 72 70 72, S Machin (Cowglen) 72 71 71 72.
287 S Hume (Murrayshall) 69 72 77 69.
289 B Heggie (Leven GS) 70 74 74 71, S McAllister (Craigielaw) 69 72 74 74.
291 S Michie (Thornton) 71 71 71 78.
292 G Turner (West Linton) 69 70 74 79.
293 D Yeats (Newmachar) 73 69 76 75.
296 C Mundie (Falkirk) 72 70 78 76.