JAMES WHITE WINS SGU ORDER OF MERIT

James By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com White did not play in the weekend's last event of the 2011 Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit circuit, the Edward Trophy at Glasgow Gailes, but he still won the  season-long points title by a considerable margin. The Lundin Golf Club member was the only player to win two domestic 72-hole tournaments during the season, the Tennant Cup and and North of Scotland open amateur stroke-play. He finished with a total of 879.93pt from 12 events – more than 100pt ahead of runner-up Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) who won the South-east District Open and finished with 768.23pt from 13 outings. Scott Crichton (Aberdour) was third with 448.55pt from 15 events. The top 12 in the final table were (number of events played in brackets): 1 James White (Lundin) 879.93 2 Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) (13) 768.23. 3 Scott Crichton (Aberdour) (15) 448.55 4 Paul Shields (Kirkhill) (15) 414.00 5 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) (6) 384.10 6 David Law (Hazlehead) (7) 382.50 7 Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) (15) 370.00 8 Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) (13) 365.00 T9 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) (14) 345.00 T9 Philip McLean (Peterhead) (11) 345.00 11 Daniel Kay (Dunbar) (11) 334.35 12 James Ross (Royal Burgess) (7) 307.50. Edinburgh player Graham Robertson (Silverknowes) emulated his Glenbervie namesake by recording a first Order of Merit 72-hole success with victory in the Edward Trophy at Glasgow Gailes on Sunday. The 34-year-old, last season's Lothians Order of Merit winner, put together three steady rounds of 72, 71, 71 and and then burst clear of the field with a closing round of 67 for a 281 aggregate and a two-shot win in Ayrshire from East Renfrewshire's former British amateur champion, Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire). Peter Latimer (St Andrews New), who led going into the final round after a second-round 66, had to settle for third on 284 after a closing 73, with fellow Fifer Scott Crichton (Aberdour) sharing fourth with Kilmacolm's Matthew Clark on 288. Robertson, an Edinburgh-based mechanical engineer, trailed Latimer by three shots after 54 holes but "got off to a flyer" in his final round. He started with a birdie then picked up a second shot at the par-5 fifth. The pivotal moment came at the ninth, where Robertson, who tied for seventh in the Tennant Cup earlier in the year, decided not to take on a tricky pin position and was aiming for the middle of the green with his approach. "But I pushed it to four feet and made birdie, which was a bit fortunate," he admitted of a shot that earned him a tie for the lead. Despite feeling "every shot felt under pressure" on the back nine, Robertson held his game together remarkably well as he went on to record a notable victory. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I can pull off a win like this," he said. "Even if I had come up just short it would have been great experience for me. "But it was nice that I managed to bring every part of my game together over four rounds. I holed some clutch putts at times and that was very pleasing. "The Edward Trophy is an old event and it's fantastic for me to follow Philip McLean as the winner. It's a brilliant end to the season." Colville Park's Ross Kellett shared sixth place with Lanarkshire team-mate Steven Rennie on 289, whille defending champion Philip McLean was a further four shots back in ninth spot. Robertson's namesake - the only difference is that the Stirling University student spells his christian name as Graeme - won the previous weekend's counting event, the South-East District Open at Musselburgh. He didn't play at Glasgow Gailes, having left with the Stirling University squad for Slovenia where this week's 2nd European universities golf team championships are being held. EDWARD TROPHY: LEADING FINAL TOTALS CSS 74 74 74 74 281 Graham Robertson (Silverknowes) 72 71 71 67. 283 Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) 71 71 70 71. 284 Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) 74 68 71 73 288 Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 77 72 71 68, Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 72 70 72 74. 289 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 77 71 67 74, Stephen Rennie (Drumpellier) 74 70 72 73. 292 Fraser Moore (Glenbervie) 75 71 73 73. 293 Philip McLean (Peterhead) 73 77 72 71. 294 John Duff (Newmachar) 74 75 74 71, Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 73 76 74 71, John Laurie (Cowglen) 68 74 77 75.