FIRST SGU JUNIOR TOUR 72-HOLER

Simon Fairburn wins in

a canter at Newmachar

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Simon Fairburn returned to the form that won him last year's Lothians junior championship to be the runaway winner of the 72-hole SGU Junior Tour event over the Dave Thomas-designed Swailend and Hawkshill courses at Newmachar Golf Club near Aberdeen over the weekend.
Fairburn, pictured left by Cal Carson Golf Agency, had rounds of 69 and 70 over the shorter No 2 circuit and then tallied 71 and 76 over the Hawkshill course today for a two-under-par total 286.
The Torwoodlee youngster surged seven shots clear with his one-under-par 71 on Sunday morning over a tree-lined Hawkhill course that repeatedly trips up the Tartan Tour pros with its premium on keeping the ball on the fairway.
In the afternoon Fairburn himself tangled with the trees and had to settle for a closing four-over-par 76 but he had victory well wrapped up by then.
Joint runners-up, five shots adrift, were the new Scottish boys' match-play champion Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) and Scott Gibson (Southerness).
Forrest, tired after his exertions at West Kilbride the previous week, failed to beat the halfway cut in the midweek Peter McEvoy Trophy boys' event at Copt Heath GC, Warwickshire while Gibson finished a creditable fourth in that presitigious Under-18s' tournament.
Forrest was more like his old self after he got an opening 76 out of his system. He went on to score 70, 71 and 74 for 291 at Newmachar while Gibson's rounds were 73, 71, 75 and 72.
Ian Redford (St Andrews), beaten in the 36-hole boys' final by Forrest, came to grief over the tougher Hawkshill course. After two par rounds of 72 over Swailend, the son of the former Rangers footballer slumped to 81 and 79 in his closing rounds and finished on 16-over-par 304 which earned him 13th place.
Conor O'Neil (Pollok) who was level with Fairburn after 36 holes, having shot a splendid seven-under-par 65 - easily the lowest round of the weekend - on his second circuit of Swailend, found Hawkshill a lot more testing. He finished with Sunday rounds of 79 and 80 for 10-over-par 298 and eighth place. One spot below him on 299 was Deeside's Jack Scott who won the first event of the 2010 SGU Junior Tour, over 36 holes at Monifieth.
FINAL TOTALS
Saturday rounds over Swailend (par 72); Sunday rounds over Hawkshill (par 72)
Par 288 (4x72) CSS 71 71, 74 74.
286 Simon Fairburn (Torwoodlee) 69 70 71 76.
291 Scott Gibson (Southerness) 73 71 75 72, Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 76 70 71 74.
292 Paul McPhee (King James VI) 69 73 75 75.
293 Liam Johnston (Dumfries & Co) 70 70 82 71.
297 Josh Jamieson (St Andrews New) 72 75 75 75, Cameron Farrell (Cardross) 75 72 70 80.
298 Conor O'Neil (Pollok) 74 65 79 80.
299 Jack Scott (Deeside) 77 71 76 75.
301 Calum Stewart (Brora) 75 71 76 79.
302 Ewen Donaldson (Craigielaw) 77 75 78 72.
303 Jamie Lynch (Falkirk Tryst) 71 76 82 74.
304 Ian Redford (St Andrews) 72 72 81 79.
305 Robbie Gauld (Cruden Bay) 79 72 79 75.
309 Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie) 73 75 80 81.
310 Danny Edwards (Elgin) 76 69 76 89.
313 Grant Bowman (Monifieth) 74 79 80 80, Eamon Bradley (Mount Ellen) 74 74 81 84.
315 Chris Low (Tantallon) 78 78 81 78, Fraser Thain (West Linton) 77 76 83 79, Jamie Reid (Cruden Bay) 76 79 80 80.
316 Graeme Duncan (Kingsknowe) 76 75 83 82.
319 Lyle McAlpine (Invergordon) 79 72 80 88.
320 Iain Watson (St Andrews) 81 77 82 80, Ross Proctor (Forres) 84 70 83 83.
324 Chris Lamb (Newmachar) 77 79 80 88.
326 Ben Murray (Portlethen) 75 80 81 90.
327 Steven Smith (Deeside) 78 78 83 88.
Disqualified: Andrew McLachlan (Bonnyton) 77 74 77 -.