CRICHTON BEATS McLEAN IN CAMERON CORBETT VASE PLAY-OFF

SCOTT CRICHTON, left, receives the Cameron Corbett Vase from Neal Stewart, the Haggs Castle Golf Club captain (pictured by courtesy of Haggs Castle Golf Club).

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Aberdour Golf Club member Scott Crichton turned in his best performance since his successful days on the US college golf circuit when he won the prestigious Cameron Corbett Vase 72-hole tournament at Haggs Castle Golf Club, Glasgow today.
Actually, it was a 73-hole tournament as far as the Fifer from Dalgety Bay was concerned because he tied with Peterhead international Philip McLean on 15-under-par 273 af the end of regulation play and then beat the Buchan man with a birdie at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off.
It was a first victory in an SGU Order of Merit four-round event by Crichton. He finished runner-up in the East of Scotland Open at Lundin year while McLean won the Edward Trophy at Glasgow Gailes in 2010 and the Leven Gold Medal in 2009.
Going farther back, Crichton was runner-up in the 2009 Scottish youths championship and his performances for Western New Mexico University put him higher up the RandA World Amateur Golf Rankings than many established, home-based Scots.
McLean, the first-round leader with an eight-under-par round of 64, despite a double bogey at the 14th (which in the final analysis was the difference between finishing first and finishing second), subsided to a 74 in the second round, but then regained the lead with a third-round 66.
But he could not shake off the dogged Crichton who was always snapping at his heels and the Aberdour player's closing 68 to McLean's 69 saw them dead-heat over the winning line.
Halfway leaders Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) and Paul Shields (Kirkhill) finished joint third on 274.
Robertson was third in the recent East of Scotland Open and joint second in the Tennant Cup before that.
Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), who finished joint eighth on 281, equalled the Haggs Castle course record of nine-under-par 63 in his final round .
+Many thanks to Haggs Castle Golf Club secretariat for supplying www.scottishgolfview.com with an excellent service of scores and additional information over their weekend tournament. I wish many more clubs would do the same! - Editor.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72) CSS 72 72 72

273 Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 67 70 68 68, Philip McLean (Peterhead) 64 74 66 69 (Crichton won sudden-death play-off at first hole).

274 Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) 67 69 70 68, Paul Shields (Kirkhill) 66 70 69 69.

276 Daniel Young (Craigie Hill) 75 65 69 67.

277 Graeme McDougall (Bishopbriggs) 72 70 67 69.

280 Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 69 75 68 68.

281 Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 75 68 75 63, Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 72 72 67 70, Brian Soutar (Leven GS) 73 68 67 73.

281 Colin Robinson (Largs) 73 70 69 70.

282 James Ross (Royal Burgess) 71 68 71 72.

283 Stephen Speirs (Portpatrick) 74 72 68 70, John Duff (Newmachar) 68 70 75 70.

284 John Mathers (Haggs Castle) 70 68 72 74.

285 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 72 70 73 70, Callum Trahan (Meldrum House) 68 79 67 71, Richard Docherty (Bearsden) 74 65 75 71, Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 75 68 70 72, Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 67 71 73 74.

286 Horacio Leon (Chile) 68 71 70 77.

287 Craig Hamilton (NZ) 75 72 74 66,

288 Angus Carrick (Douglas Park) 73 71 75 69, Andrew Weir (Montrose Mercantile) 73 69 75 71.

289 James White (Lundin) 72 73 73 71, Paul Alexander (Caldwell) 73 71 71 74.

290 Paul McPhee (King James VI) 71 71 74 74.

291 Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire080 68 73 70, Greg Nicholson (Mortonhall) 70 72 73 76.

292 Keith Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle) 74 73 73 72, Sean McGarvey (Glencorse) 72 72 76 72, Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) 77 71 71 73, Lee Morgan (Swanston) 72 70 72 78.

293 Chris Robb (Inchmarlo) 70 74 71 78.

294 Nick Macandrew (Cullen) 73 72 79 70, Stephen Neilson (Dunbar) 77 70 74 73.

295 Steven Smith (Dalmahoy) 76 71 70 78.

296 Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh) 76 70 74 76

297 Paul Gault (Westerwood) 77 69 73 78.

298 Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 74 74 76 74
301 Michael Burnett (Harburn) 75 70 79 77.

SCROLL DOWN TO OUR SATURDAY REPORT OF THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS TO FIND OUT THE SCORES OF THOSE PLAYERS WHO MISSED THE CUT.