Bidwells Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship

Banchory's James Byrne, who partnered winner Tommy Fleetwood over the final two rounds, pictured on the third tee at Murcar Links (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency, click on it to enlarge). Byrne, who set a course record on Saturday and eventually finished a very creditable joint fourth, must have rekindled his Scotland international team prospects after being capped in the European team championships and home internationals of 2007, then ignored in 2008.

Lancashire teenager Tommy

is Hammer of the Scots

at Murcar Links

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Lancashire teenager Tommy Fleetwood became the Hammer of the Scots with a record-smashing performance at Murcar Links today.
The 18-year-old Everton supporter and Formby Hall GC member from Southport turned the Bidwells Scottish men’s open amateur stroke-play championship into a slaughter in the sun with an eight-shot victory as he prised loose the tartan talons on the trophy.
Fleetwood shaved one stroke off the tournament record low aggregate of 269 set by Richie Ramsey in 2004 at Lundin Links. And his victory margin is almost certainly a record for the championship which started in 1968.
Scott Henry, Kevin McAlpine and Wallace Booth had kept the trophy on this side of the Border for the past three years since Robert Dinwiddie's victory at Balgownie in 2005 but Fleetwood, two shots clear of James Byrne at halfway, stretched that to a three-stroke lead from Murrayshall’s Gavin Dear with one round to go.
The Scone man did cut the gap to two shots with a birdie at the first hole of the final round but that was as close as he got.
By the turn Fleetwood, beaten in last year’s British amateur championship final at Turnberry, had surged to 16 under par for the tournament, a yawning nine shots clear of Dear with the third-placed trio of Byrne and England’s Dale Whitnell and Luke Goddard, a further seven shots back at two under par.
Fleetwood, watched by the Walker Cup selectors, broke 70 in every round over the par-71 links – 66, 69, 67 and 66 for 16-under-par 268. He did get as low as 17 under par at one stage. Tommy must be a certainty to be named in the team to play the Americans at Merion Golf Club in September.
“I had only one bogey over the last 36 holes …. I putted really well … and it was just my week. Even in the last round I didn’t hit one good shot over the sixth, seventh and eighth holes and yet I birdied them all in reaching the turn in 31 (five under par),” said Fleetwood.
“It was just flowing. The best four rounds I’ve ever played in my life. I did lead the Lytham Trophy with 11 holes to go recently and I finished joint fourth I the Brabazon Trophy. But this is the greatest win of my career. Everton's defeat in the FA Cup final was the only low point of the weekend!"

Beaten in the 36-hole final of the British amateur championship at Turnberry last year, Fleetwood must have a great chance of going one better in this year's event which is virtually a "home posting" for him. The Formby and West Lancs courses are within 20min of his home.

"Although my home course, Formby Hall, is not a links, I know all the Lancashire links courses very well," said Tommy.
Gavin Dear did not complete the Irish-Scottish stroke-play double but he was quite happy to string together rounds of 68, 71, 66 and 71 for second place on eight-under-par 276.
“I’m pleased I’m back in good form after taking a week off and feeling distinctly rusty at the start of this championship. I took my foot off the pedal over the last six holes when I heard how far in front Tommy was. There was no point in risking losing second place.”
Portuguese amateur open championship winner Dale Whitnell from Essex finished third with rounds of 70, 71, 67 and 72.
The next best Scot after Dear was Banchory’s James Byrne who tied for fourth place with another English Walker Cup candidate, Luke Goddard, on 282.

Byrne carried his clubs in the distinctive yellow Arizona State University team bag - but earlier in the morning he didn't have a bag or clubs only a few minutes before his third-round tee time.

He had driven to the course in a different car from the one in which he had put his clubs after a practice near home on Saturday night.

Inchmarlo's Tom Spencer volunteered to drive the 30-odd miles from Murcar to the Byrnes' home in Banchory, retrieve the clubs and reunite James with them ... which he did, only minutes before the starter was about to read out Byrnes' name to tee off.

Whether or not all of this had any effect on the player, is debatable but his third-round 75 was easily his worst of the four, some 10 shots more than his record-setting Saturday second-round.
But all credit to 20-year-old Byrne for his course record performance on Saturday and finishing joint fourth in among the Walker Cup team contenders.

James was perhaps capped ahead of his time in the European team championship and home internationals of 2007 but he certainly should not have been ignored for international selection in 2008.

Byrne's Murcar Links performance must put him into some Scotland team or teams before the end of the season, you would think.

Defending champion Wallace Booth (Comrie), still looking for that "one good round" he feels will get another good season rolling, finished joint 10th on 287 without managing to beat par in any of his four rounds of 72, 73, 71 and 71.

Wallace had the world No 10 Sam Hutsby (Liphook) on the same mark and Edward Trophy winner Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) also.
Another Colville Park player Ross Kellett was a shot behind them in 14th place.

From a North-east point of view, to have three players in the top 20 - Byrne, Philip McLean (Peterhead) and Royal Aberdeen's Mark Halliday - was good for the area, especially as the Lothians, the biggest and arguably the strongest of all the districts, did not even have a qualifier for Sunday's play after the up-and-coming prospect James Ross (Royal Burgess) bowed out at halfway.

Paul Lawrie protegee McLean missed four birdie chance putts from under 10feet but still returned a two-under-par 69 in the final round for a total of 286 and joint eighth position.

McLean is, of course, a full-time amateur. I wonder what Mark Halliday would have achieved over the last decade or so had he done nothing else but play golf instead of carving a business career in Aberdeen for himself.

Four rounds in three days, two of them on Sunday, perhaps took their toll on Halliday as, after three steady rounds of 72, 70 and 71, he faded to a 78 for 291. Still, a lot of good players finished behind the Royal Aberdeen man.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71) CSS 74 74 73 73. Yardage 6,516.
268 Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall) 66 69 67 66.
276 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) 68 71 66 71.
280 Dale Whitnell (Five Lakes) 70 71 67 72.
282 Luke Goddard (Hendon) 73 71 69 69, James Byrne (Banchory) 72 65 75 70.
283 Matt Haines (Rochester & Cobham Park) 66 73 74 70
285 Farren Keenan (Sunningdale) 72 72 69 72
286 Ben Westgate (Trevose) 71 74 70 71, Philip McLean (Peterhead) 75 70 72 69.
287 Paul O’Hara (Colville Park) 73 75 71 68, Wallace Booth (Comrie) 72 73 71 71, Sam Hutsby (Liphook) 74 69 72 72, Jake Redman (SAf) 71 71 72 73.
289 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 72 70 74 73.
290 Eddie Pepperell (Drayton Park) 73 68 76 73
291 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 76 72 73 70, Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen) 72 70 71 78.
292 Matt Jager (Aus) 73 74 72 73, Adrian Ford (SAf) 71 76 72 73.
293 Chris Robb (Inchmarlo) 72 76 73 72, Paul Shields (Kirkhill) 76 71 72 74.
294 Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) 73 75 72 74, Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 75 72 76 71, Bobby Rushford (Grangemouth) 74 73 73 74, Russell Thornton (US) 74 72 74 74, Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 74 72 75 73, Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 72 72 72 78.
295 Oscar Sharpe (Minchinhampton) 79 69 72 75, Daniel Nisbet (Aus) 79 68 73 75, Daniel Jennevret (Swe) 71 72 74 78.
296 Steven Ferreira (SAf) 77 70 74 75, James Hendrick (Pollok) 68 78 73 77, Richard Merchant (Wernddu) 73 71 76 76, Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) 72 72 73 69.
297 Richard Smith (Notts) 70 78 77 72, David Addison (Kilmarnock Barassie) 76 69 75 77, Jamie Mackay (Kilmarnock Barassie) 74 71 77 75, Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) 71 71 80 75.
298 Jack Senior (Heysham) 71 70 78 79.
299 Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) 73 72 76 78, Liam McGowan (St Andrews New) 72 71 75 81.
300 Ross Crowe (Westerhope) 72 76 77 75, Sandy Bolton (Magnolia Park) 70 78 71 81.
301 Mark Fensham (SAf) 75 72 77 77, Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 73 73 74 81
304 Nick Robson (Meldrum House) 71 76 81 76.