MONEYGATE SCOTTISH AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Kris Nicol in action against John Shanks (Ayrshire). Image (by Kenny Smith) by courtesy of the Scottish Golf Union.

North-east beat Renfrewshire in Kinross final

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
By ROSS DUNCAN
The North-east stormed to their first victory since 1992 with a convincing 4½ - ½ win over defending champions Renfrewshire in the final of the Moneygate Scottish Area Team Championship at Kinross today.
Mike Pocock’s men, comfortably the leading qualifiers in Saturday's stroke-play stages, showed their strength in depth this afternoon and never gave Renfrewshire the opportunity of taking a second consecutive title.
The foursomes pairing of Anthony Bews and Bryan Innes, the eldest member of the team by 15 years, picked up where they left off this morning by notching up a 3&2 win over Gordon Stevenson and Bryan Adam in the opening tie.
Fraserburgh’s Kris Nicol clinched his match in sensational style, firing a 280-yard 3-wood approach to three feet for an eagle on the 15th to secure the second point with a 4&3 victory over former British Amateur champion Craig Watson.
It was left to Edward Trophy champion Philip McLean to claim the third and decisive point, again finishing off in dramatic fashion with a 40ft putt for a birdie 2 at the short 14th to give the North-east an unassailable lead.
Banchory’s Scott Larkin, now a Royal Aberdeen member, put the icing on the cake with a 4&2 winning margin over the veteran Ronnie Clark, while Hazlehead’s David Law took a half in the final game against the in-form Matthew Clark to round off a superb day in the Kinross sunshine for the North-east team.
A delighted captain Mike Pocock proclaimed:
“It feels fantastic to be the first winners of the new format Moneygate Scottish Area Team Championship and we’re thrilled to take the trophy after a long eighteen year wait. We’ve got a talented group of young players in the North-east just now and with James Byrne and Mark Halliday on the sidelines, it demonstrates the strength in depth in our area.
“The boys played great golf all weekend and I can’t thank my players enough for their superb victory. All credit to Renfrewshire for putting up such a great defence of the title and this makes up for our defeat by them in last year’s semi-finals.” he added.
David Law, the reigning Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur champion, praised the team spirit in the camp:
“We play together a lot so it’s really good to win as a team. There’s a good spirit among the players and I think that showed out on the course. I think we revelled in the pressure of being championship favourites and we all showed strength in character to deliver on the day. Personally, it’s obviously great to win a third national title but this was very much a team effort.
“To be level par over ten rounds in the stroke play qualifying demonstrates the consistency of the team and the strength of golf in the North-east just now.”
In the third and fourth place play-off match, Lothian’s overcame Ayrshire, also by a 4½ - ½ points margin to clinch the bronze medal.

REPORT OF MORNING SEMI-FINALS
Defending champions Renfrewshire will face leading qualifiers North-east in the final of the Moneygate Scottish Area Team Championship at Kinross this afternoon.
Renfrewshire, who have the same six-man side who defeated Dumbartonshire 4 – 1 in last year’s final, came out on top in a hard-fought 3.5 – 1.5 victory over Lothians, while a strong North-east team overcame 2008 champions Ayrshire with an excellent 3 - 2 win.
Former Scotland international Bryan Innes and partner Anthony Bews got the North-east off to a flying start with a 2 and 1 win over Ayrshire’s Scott Brown and Steven Murray, while Philip McLean increased the North-east’s lead with a 2 and 1 victory over Scotland team-mate Steven McEwan.
Ayrshire’s John Shanks took the notable scalp of Kris Nicol with a two-hole win, the highlight of which was a 25ft birdie putt for a 2 at the 17th.
Shanks' victory gave Ayrshire a fighting chance and with Scottish boys stroke-play champion Jack McDonald securing a fine 3 and 2 win over Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur champion David Law, the scores were level at 2 – 2.
However, Scott Larkin staved off a storming fight back from Ewan Brown, having been five up through nine, to win 2 and 1 to put North-east into the final.
Kilmalcolm’s Matthew Clark led the way for Renfrewshire, coasting to a 6 and 4 win over Allyn Dick in the battle of the former mid-amateur champions but the Lothians duo of David Miller and Mark Timmins levelled with their 2&1 foursomes victory over Bryan Adam and Gordon Stevenson.
The experienced duo of Ronnie Clark and Andrew Farmer gave Murdo Carmichael’s Renfrewshire side the required points with wins over Steven Armstrong and Scottish boys champion Grant Forrest, while Craig Watson and Mark Hillson shared the spoils to settle for a half point each.
The final tees-off at 2.30pm with one foursome match followed by four singles encounters to determine the destination of the 2010 Moneygate Scottish Area Team Championship title.

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS

RENFREWSHIRE 3 1/2, LOTHIANS 1 1/2
Foursome (0-1)
Bryan Adam & Gordon Stevenson lost to Mark Timmins & Mark Hillson 2 and 1.
Singles (3 1/2-1/2)
Matthew Clark bt Allyn Dick 6 and 4.
Craig Watson halved with Mark Hillson.
Ronnie Clark bt Steven Armstrong 3 and 1.
Andrew Farmer bt Grant Forrest 3 and 1.

NORTH-EAST 3, AYRSHIRE 2
Foursome (1-0)
Bryan Innes & Anthony Bews bt Scott Brown & Steven Murray 2 and 1.
Singles (2-2)
Philip McLean bt Steven McEwan 2 and 1.
Kris Nicol lost to John Shanks 2 and 1.
David Law lost to Jack McDonald 3 and 2.
Scott Larkin bt Ewan Brown 2 and 1.

FINAL

NORTH-EAST 4 1/2, RENFREWSHIRE 1/2
Foursome (1-0)
Anthony Bews & Bryan Innes bt Bryan Adam & Gordon Stevenson 3 and 2.
Singles (3 1/2-1/2)
David Law halved with Matthew Clark
Kris Nicol bt Craig Watson 4 and 3.
Scott Larkin bt Ronnie Clark 4 and 2.
Philip McLean bt Andrew Farmer 5 and 4.

THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF

LOTHIANS 4 1/2, AYRSHIRE 1/2
Foursomes (1-0)
Mark Timmins & David Miller bt Steven Murray & Scott Brown 1 hole.
Singles (3 1/2-1/2)
Mark Hillson bt Steven McEwan 2 holes.
Allyn Dick halved with John Shanks.
Grant Forrest bt Ewan Brown 1 hole.
Steven Armstrong bt Jack McDonald 2 and 1.

SATURDAY'S STROKE-PLAY SCORES
Please click on the following link to the Stroke Play Qualifying Results:

http://www.scottishgolf.org/files/2010_Area_Team_-_Score_Input.pdf

The Montgomery stats were as follows Par 72, SSS 72, CSS 75
The Bruce stats were as follows Par 73, SSS 72, CSS 75