Hazlehead teenager David Law in action at Royal Troon (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency). Click on it to enlarge.

It's O'Hara v Law for the title

- and both can make history!

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Motherwell’s Paul O’Hara is through to his third final of the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur golf championship. But the 22-year-old Colville Park player feels this one is going to be different – he’s going to win it!
If he does, Paul, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency at Troon, will match the achievement of older brother, European Tour player Steven O’Hara, the winner at Royal Dornoch in 2000. No two brothers have ever won this national title.
O’Hara’s opponent in the 36-hole will be Aberdonian David Law, the 18-year-old winner of the Scottish boys’ match-play championship at Balgownie in April and a protégé of Paul Lawrie who sent his usual text messages before and after the match,
Law, like O’Hara, will be bidding for a first – no Scottish boys’ match-play champion has ever won the men’s national match-play title in the same season.
In this afternoon's semi-finals, played in foul weather of wind and rain, Paul, the No 4 seed, beat the only other surviving seed, No 8 Kris McNicoll (Carnoustie), by 3 and 2.
And Law won an all-Aberdeen encounter against 39-year-old Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) by 2 and 1.
O’Hara never looked like being beaten after going two up at the fourth and he won by 3 and 2 in the end.
“I’ve been playing well all week. I’ve never been behind in any of my matches and I feel as though I am a better player than when I lost in the finals of 2004 and 2006,” said O’Hara who has had the look of the ultimate winner all week.
“I’ll be more patient and certainly less nervous than I was then. I was only 17 or so when I lost to George Murray at Gullane five years ago. I feel I have more control of the ball, and that helps a lot in the windy conditions we’ve had this week. and I’m hitting it a lot further without any extra effort.”
McNicoll, obviously disappointed at not reaching his second final in three years, said: “I just struggled to keep the ball on the fairways. Paul was very solid. He deserved to win.”
Both men will be entering the European Tour Qualifying School process in mid-September.
O’Hara, who had five birdies in his morning 4 and 3 win over Peter Latimer (St Andrews New), produced another two on the outward half against McNicoll to be three up after nine.
O’Hara drew first blood with a winning par at the third and a birdie 4 at the long fourth put him two up. McNicoll scored his first success with a par 3 at the fifth but went two down again to a birdie 2 by O’Hara at the Postage Stamp short eighth.
McNicoll had his third bogey out the outward half to lose the ninth.
The Carnoustie man, out in three-over 39 to O’Hara’s 36, needed to make inroads on his three-hole deficit as they turned for home but could no better than halve the 10th and 11th and the writing was on the wall for McNicoll when he bogeyed the 12th to fall four down with six to play.
McNicoll got his first win since the fifth with a par at the 13th and, when O’Hara conceded the 15th , the Motherwell man’s lead had been slashed to two holes but O’Hara finished his man off with a birdie at the long 16th – his eighth birdie of the day – for a 3 and 2 win.
David Law feels he has played better at Royal Troon than he did in his Under-18 title-winning effort at Royal Aberdeen – “but I’ve had to … this is a men’s championship.
I’ve gained a lot of tournament experience since April and even this week I’ve felt as though I’ve been getting better and better. I’ve sharpened up a lot and I holed a lot of clutch putts to win my semi-final.
“But Paul O’Hara’s a great player. I played a lot with him, so I know this is going to be my toughest ever match in the final. He has an unbelievable short game but I’ll be up for it.”
Bryan Innes, after his four birdies in his last seven morning holes to beat Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) by 6 and 4, was not long in coming down to earth with a bump after lunch. He drove out of bounds from the elevated first tee over the fence on the right and on to the beach but, unruffled, he was back on terms when Law bogeyed the third. A string of halved holes followed and it was all square at the turn with Law out in three-over 39.
The younger Aberdonian regained the lead he had lost at the third when he holed a good eight-footer for a winning par 4 at the 10th Law was holing some great pressure putts. He sank a six-footer at the next for a half and then got an almost unbelievable half in bogey 5s after losing a ball from a snap hook of the tee.
“I holed a 15 footer there for a birdie with my second ball and then I sank an 18ft putt putt for a birdie 3 to got two up at the 13th.”
These were the key holes for Law who lost the 14th but halved the 15th and 16th before winning by 2 and 1 with a par 3 at the short 17th.
The consolation for Bryan Innes is that he receives a medal for reaching the semi-finals.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Quarter-finals

*Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) bt Grant Carnie (Newburgh-on-Ythan) 4 and 3, *Paul O’Hara (Colville Park) bt Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) 4 and 3, Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) bt Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) 6 and 4, David Law (Hazlehead) bt Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) 1 hole.
Semi-finals

*O’Hara bt *McNicoll 3 and 2, Law bt Innes 2 and 1.
* denotes seeded player.

McNicoll v O'Hara and Innes v

Law in semi-finals at Royal Troon

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Murcar Links’ Bryan Innes swept into the semi-finals of the Allied Surveyors Scottish men’s amateur golf championship at the windy Royal Troon Golf Club links today.
But the glory runs by one of the two other North-east players in the last eight, Grant Carnie from Ellon, ended in disappointment.
Scottish boys champion David Law from Hazlehead joined his fellow Aberdonian in the last four with a last-green win over Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie).
Innes will now play Law for a place in the final.
The other semi-final features the two remaining seeds, Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) and Paul O’Hara (Colville Park).
Innes, a 39-year-old wealth advisor, beat a stuffy Drumpellier player Steven Rennie by 6 and 4 with an excellent display of how to hit long irons under the wind.
“I’m playing the course – not my opponent – every time I go out. I just concentrate on getting my tee shots on the fairways or on the greens at the short holes and my game plan is working well so far.”
Innes reached the semi-finals of the British mid-amateur championship at Muirfield three or four years ago but this is the first time he has made it through to the last four in the Scottish amateur.
“Reaching the last 16 was my previous best so I’m ahead of myself,” said Bryan whose only cap for Scotland came six years ago.
Innes went three up on Steven Rennie with successes at the second, third and fourth. He lost the seventh to a birdie but was able to match his opponent’s birdie 2 at the famous Postage Stamp short eighth hole.
A concession by Rennie at the ninth allowed Innes to regain a three-hole lead as they turned for home.
Innes lost the 10th to a par but birdied the 11th, then the 12th with a magnificent two-iron shot of about 180 yds to within six feet of the stick – despite the wind - and go back to three up.
When the Murcar Links man birdied the 14th to win the match it was his fourth birdie in the space of seven holes.
David Law was two down eighth holes against Euan Brown after taking a double bogey 5 at the Postage Stamp short eighth, which his opponent was able to win with a bogey 4. Law had also bogeyed the seventh to lose that one after birdieing the long fourth to cancel out the loss of the third to a par.
Law got it back to one down with a par at the ninth but slipped back to two down with a bogey at the 12th.
The Aberdonian then produced a great revival under pressure to win the 13th with a birdie and 14th and 15th with pars to be one up for the first time.
Brown hit back with a birdie at the long 16th to square the contest but Law’s par 3 at the short 17th put him back in the lead and the downwind 18th was halved in par 4s, giving Law a place in the semi-final – a great performance by the 18-year-old.
“I’m chuffed that I’ve go so far, considering I came down here not really playing well, just in flashes. But today my driving was good, considering the wind was coming in from a different direction, and my putting was solid,” said Law.
“Great to be playing Brian Innes in the semi-final. That means Aberdeen has got to have a Scottish championship finalist. That can’t be bad.”
Newburgh Golf Club member Grant Carnie was beaten 4 and 3 by the eighth seed, Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) without being able to recapture the brilliant form that knocked out the top seed, Gavin Dear yesterday.
“My right heel blister was a bit sore but I couldn’t really blame that at all,” said Carnie whose parents cut short a holiday at Garmouth & Kingston and made the long car journey south to Ayrshire in the early hours of the morning.
“The big difference today was that I struggled off the tee. I had used the driver very well every day up to this morning but not today.”
Carnie won the second with a par to go one up but that was to prove the high point of the tie for him. McNicoll won six of the next seven holes in a row from the fourth with nothing better than pars and helped by hole concession by Carnie at the fifth and sixth to be four up at the turn and five ahead after 10.
It was McNicoll’s turn to concede a hole at the 11th, which reduced his lead to four holes but Carnie bogeyed the next to fall back to five down. McNicoll bogeyed the 13th but halved the short 14th to be four up with four to play. A half in par 4s at the 15th gave McNicoll a 4 and 3 win in a match in which neither player could conjure up a birdie in the rising wind.
“I concentrated on keeping the ball on play, playing safe, and letting my opponent make the mistakes,” said McNicoll who reached the semi-final for the second time.
“I’m a better player than I was when I reach the final two years ago.”
Paul O’Hara, the No 4 seed from Colville Park, bidding to reach the final for a third time, produced five birdies in winning by 4 and 3 against US college circuit player Peter Latimer (St Andrews New).
“I spent an hour or two on the driving range sorting things out last night and I felt happier with my swing today. We’ve played a lot of golf in windy conditions this week and it is hard on your swing,” said Paul, younger brother of European Tour player Steven O’Hara who won the Scottish amateur title at Royal Dornoch in 2000.
Paul O’Hara, three up after only four holes, birdied the second, third, seventh and 11th in establishing and maintaining a three-hole lead over Peter Latimer who had to hole a bunker shot to halve the 11th in birdie 3s.
O’Hara was three up with five to play after the 12th and 13th were halved in pars.

RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS
*Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) bt Grant Carnie (Newburgh) 4 and 3.
*Paul O’Hara (Colville Park) bt Peter Latimer (St Andrews News) 4 and 3.
Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) bt Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) 6 and 4.
David Law (Hazlehead) bt Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) 1 hole.

*denotes seeded player.

ends