Scott Catlin wins Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance championship

By KEITH LIDDLE
Secretary, Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance
Congratulations go to our new Alliance champion, Scott Catlin (Greenburn), winner of the Uniroyal Trophy, and Peter Sewell (West Linton) winner of the Gavin Clark Trophy in the handicap section over the Gullane Nos 2 and 3 courses on Wednesday.
The weather was fine and sunny, with a little bit of a breeze. The welcome in the clubhouse was, as always, very warm and the catering was great (the chicken and leek pie was excellent).
Scott Catlin's winning two-round total was 131, eight under par. Starting on the No 2 course, Scott, pictured above, was round in 66, five under par, which was the lowest round of the day on the longer of the two courses. He had birdies at the third, sixth, ninth, 16th and 18th, plus an eagle 2 at the 361yd 17th. He dropped only two shots, at the fourth and 13th.
In the afternoon round on Gullane No 3, Catlin shot a three-under-par 65 with birdies at the first, seventh, 14th, 15th and 16th and a couple of dropped shots, at the fifth and 11th. Fellow competitors were full of praise for Scott's fine effort.
In second place on 132 was Neil Fenwick (Dunbar). After a solid round of 70 on the No.2 course in the morning, Neil had a wonderful 62, six under par, on the No 3 course in the afternoon. Highlights of Neil's 62 were birdies at the sixth, seventh, eighth, 10th, 14th and 16th, with no shots dropped.
Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) was third with a total of 133, made up of a 68 on No 2 and a 65 on No 3.
Terry Mathieson (King's Acre) and David Patrick (Elie) were fourth equal on 134.
Handicap section winner Peter Sewell, playing off eight, had a net total of 130. He got off to a flying start in the morning round by nearly holing his second shot to the first hole for a tap-in birdie. He birdied the second and seventh too, dropping shots at the fifth and eighth to reach the turn in 33, one under par.
A birdie 2 at the 15th and dropped shots at the 10th, 12th and 16th saw Peter back in two over par 36. His 69 - 8 = 61, had set a cracking early pace.
Robert Denholm (Duddingston) playing off five, was second with a net total of 138. Wilson Morton (Dunbar), also off five, was third with 139.
Fourth spot was shared by Grant Skinner (Glencorse), playing off four, Gordon Bell (Gullane), playing off three, and David Graham (Lochend), playing off four. All three returned net 141s.
I have to thank a number of people who helped us have a great day's golf. First of all I would like to thank Gullane commercial manager Alison MacLeod and her staff, who kindly accepted our request to hold the Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance championship over the Gullane No.2 and No.3 courses.
I also thank the greens staff for providing two fine courses in great condition, a point which was mentioned frequently by our competitors ... caterers John and Alison Greer, who were backed up by a fine team, fed and watered us very well, with a special mention to Irene for her super-efficient service and good humour when dealing with the two Johns and me.
On that note, I would like to thank John T Anderson and John Glen for the help and support they gave. Initially as starters, offering words of encouragement to all our participants before they set out. Between rounds they helped me broaden my historical knowledge of the Alliance with their wonderful stories.
They then helped record the first round scores and before we knew it, they were back out at the first tee offering words of encouragement before the start of round two. At the end of the 36 holes they eagerly collected the cards from competitors and recorded the scores in their neatest handwriting.
I really appreciated their efforts and words of wisdom, from eight in the morning till six at night.
Orders of Merit 2008 - 2009
A big 'well done' to scratch section winner David Patrick (Elie) and handicap section winner John Kerr (Deer Park).
East v West match (Bruntsfield GS, Thursday, April 9)
I will send out an E-mail with a note of the professional and amateur qualifiers within the next few days.
Scottish Alliance Championship 2009
Please note that we will be back at Gullane from October 6 to 8 for this year's Scottish Alliance Championship. I will send out an E-mail with the details in the near future. I'm sure it will be very popular.
And finally...
We have a re-scheduled outing to Duddingston next week (March 25) and I look forward to seeing as many of you who can make it. For those of you who can't, I'd like to thank you for your kind words. Your thoughts and opinions on how to make the Alliance better are always welcome.
LEADING PRIZEWINNERS AT GULLANE ON WEDNESDAY
SCRATCH
131 Scott Catlin (Greenburn) 66 65 (£300).
132 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 70 62 (£250).
133 Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) 68 65 (£200).
134 Terry Mathieson (King's Acre), David Patrick (Elie) (£125 each).
HANDICAP
130 Peter Sewell (West Linton) (8) 61 69 (£150 voucher).
138 Robert Denholm (Duddingston) (5) (£125 voucher).
139 Wilson Morton (Dunbar) (5) (£100 voucher).
141 Grant Skinner (Glencorse) (4), Gordon Bell (Gullane) (4), David Graham (Lochend) (4) (£42 voucher each).