GRANT CARNIE KOS TOP SEED GAVIN

DEAR AT ROYAL TROON

American college circuit golfer Grant Carnie, playing the game of his life, floored the No 1 seed and hot title favourite Gavin Dear in the fourth round of the Allied Surveyors Scottish men’s amateur golf championship over the windswept Royal Troon links this morning.
Three seeds survive into this afternoon’s round of the last 16 – Colville Park’s No 3 Ross Kellett and No 4 Paul O’Hara and No 8 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie). O’Hara’s 7 and 5 win over 16-year-old Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), last week’s winner of the Scottish boys’ open stroke-play championship, was the biggest margin of the 16 fourth-round ties.
Carnie, very much the underdog at the start of the match, landed the knock-out blow at the 19th after taking the lead for the first time at the 15th - and promptly losing it again.
“I’m delighted. It feels good to have beaten a player of Gavin’s standing. I can hardly believe it although I was looking forward to the match and I knew I had a chance if I played to my best form – which I did, maybe even better than I thought I could play at this level,” said 20-year-old Carnie, whose father Murray is organiser of the Paul Lawrie Foundation.
Carnie is home on holiday in Ellon, Aberdeenshire from the United States where he has been a student at Brevard College, North Carolina but his form for their golf team has been so good that he has been head-hunted by the University of South Carolina-Aiken golf coach which is where Grant will go back to in the autumn.
“I’ve got no excuses,” said Dear, whose golf also benefited hugely from playing four years in the States as a student at Lynn University, Florida. “I did everything I could but I just couldn’t buy a putt out there.”
Dear jumped into a two-hole lead by winning the third and fourth but that was the most Newburgh-on-Ythan member Carnie trailed. The Ellon scratch man, carrying his own clubs while Dear had Troon Ladies scratch player Rachel McQueen pulling his bag, won the sixth and eighth and after that it was a squeaky tight contest between Dear, ranked No 12 amateur in the world and Carnie, not in the first 1,200 but looking every bit as good as his highly-rated opponent who perhaps erred on the conservative side in the driving stakes.
Dear, who is a certainty for a place in the GB&I team for the Walker Cup in the United States in September, bogeyed the 15th to go one down for the first time but bounced back to square by winning the 16th.
Gavin scrambled brilliantly to salvage halves in par at the short 17th and the 18th. The Scone-based man bunkered his tee shot below the plateau 17th green but came out very well to six feet past the hole – and downed the putt confidently for a half with Carnie’s two-putt 3.
Dear was bunkered left off the tee at the 18th and after taking three go get on Royal Troon’s par-4 finishing hole, he again finished up ramming home a four-footer without hesitation to match Carnie’s two-putt 4.
But down the 19th, the top seed’s driving let him down again. He was up the right and miles behind the big-hitting, straight-driving Carnie off the and took three to reach the putting surface. He never got a chance to save par this time.
Grant was confidently on in two and rolled in his 18ft putt for a winning birdie 3 extinguishing Dear’s title hopes in what will be his last “Scottish” before he turns pro in late September.
McDonald Ellon’s Adam Dunton put up a good fight against the No 8 seed Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) before going down by 2 and 1. Dunton was one up at the turn but McNicoll was just the stronger in the cross wind blowing in from the sea over the closing holes.
Former Scotland cap Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) took up a three-hole lead on Michael Gray (Lanark) by the seventh tee and stayed in the driving seat to win by 4 and 2.
Fraserburgh’s Kris Nicol looked bound for the last 16 without any problems when he was four up after 13against Steven Rennie but the Dunfermline man fought back to be all square after 17.
Rennie, who had birdied the 14th and 16th, continued his grandstand finish by birdieing the 18th for a one-hole victory.
Former Scottish stroke and match-play champion and on his way back from a serious knee operation during the winter, Kevin McAlpine (Alyth), square at the turn, beat Christopher Forman (Peterhead) by 2 and 1.
Scottish boys’ match-play champion David Law (Hazlehead) was one up on Mark Thomson (Grange) at the turn but the tie was all square after 12 but Law got his nose in front again by the 18th tee and a half in bogey 5s down the last put the 18-year-old Paul Lawrie protégée through to the last 16.


ALLIED SURVEYORS SCOTTISH MEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Royal Troon Golf Club

FOURTH ROUND
(*denotes seeded player)
Upper Half
Grant Carnie (Newburgh on Ythan) bt *Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) at 19th
Scott Gibson (Southerness) bt Richard Graham (Hayston) 1 hole.
Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) bt Michael Campbell (Renfrew) 3 and 2.
*Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) bt Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 2 and 1.
*Paul O’Hara (Colville Park) bt Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 7 and 5.
Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) bt Ed Wood (Crow Wood) 3 and 2.
Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) bt Stephen Machin (Cowglen) 1 hole.
Chris Lawton (Stirling) bt Andrew McLachlan (Bonnyton) 2 and 1.
Lower Half
Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) bt Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) 1 hole.
James White (Lundin) bt Scott McClory (Bathgate) 5 and 4.
Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) bt Michael Gray (Lanark) 4 and 2.
*Ross Kellett (Colville Park) bt James Hendrick (Pollok) 5 and 4.
Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Stewart Henderson (Hamilton) 1 hole.
Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) bt Christopher Forman (Peterhead) 2 and 1.
David Law (Hazlehead) bt Mark Thomson (Grange) 1 hole.
Oliver Huish (North Berwick) bt Robert Jenkins (Crow Wood) 3 and 2.