Sunday, June 21, 2009

Tennant Cup triumph for Banchory player

James Byrne equals Killermont record

twice as he wins by SEVEN strokes

Banchory's James Byrne, not included in Scotland's squad for the upcoming European team championship, finished many shots ahead of them all with a devastating display to win the Tennant Cup 72-hole tournament by SEVEN shots at Glasgow Golf Club's Killermont course at Bearsden today.
After Saturday's first two rounds at Glasgow Gailes, 20-year-old Byrne, one of only two Scots to reach the last 16 of last week's British amateur championship at Formby, led by one stroke with rounds of 73 and 68 for one-under-par 141.
But in perfect, windless scoring conditions at Killermont today, the Arizona State student simply destroyed the opposition by not once but TWICE equalling the course record of seven-under-par 63, held jointly by Glasgow Golf Club member and former Scotland cap Jonathan King and Cliff Barrowman.
Australian Bryden MacPherson also equalled the record in his morning
third-round.
But the spotlight was on Byrne who came into this prestigious event seeking
to add to his two previous SGU 72-hole Order of Merit tournament
victories – the Newlands Cup at Lanark a couple of years ago and the
North-east District Open at Newburgh on Ythan last year.
Byrne's four-round total of 15-under-par 267 was the joint second lowest in the history of the tournament, beaten only by Barry Hume in the days before he turned pro.
The seven-stroke winning margin is also believed not to be a record but, without question, Byrne's pair of 63s – 14 under par for Sunday's final two rounds – is the lowest third and fourth round aggregate in the history of the tournament.
Byrne faced only one challenge over the last two rounds. That came from Steven McEwan (Caprington), winner of the SGU Order of Merit last year.
He followed up his Saturday pair of 71s with a third-round 68 and
birdied five of the first eight holes in his final round to get to within three shots of leader Byrne.
But the wheels came off McEwan's charge when he took two shots in a bunker at the 12th
Nevertheless he did extremely well to finish with a 64 to finish in clear second place on 274 – four shots clear of third-placed Gavin Dear (Murrayshall), the top Scot in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Dear scored 70, 75, 69 and 64 for 278.

+James Byrne is pictured above with the Tennant Cup and Mrs Cameron Grant, wife of the Glasgow Golf Club captain (image by courtesy of Glasgow Golf Club). Click on it to enlarge for viewing.

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