PHILIP McLEAN REGAINS NE ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP AS A ROOKIE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Philip McLean clinched his second North-east Golfers’ Alliance championship in three years in warm and sunny conditions at Portlethen today.
The 24-year-old rookie pro, pictured, from Peterhead scorched to the turn in five-under-par 31 and added a two-under 70 to his five-under 65 at Fraserburgh in the first round for a seven-under-par total of 135.
That got him over the 36-hole winning line by one shot from Tartan Tour star Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) who was one behind McLean at Fraserburgh and stayed that way when he too returned a second-round 70 (34-36)
McLean is one of three rookies backed by the Paul Lawrie Foundation. The two others, Aberdeen’s David Law and Fraserburgh’s Kris Nicol finished third and and fourth on 139 and 143 respectively.
Law and Royal Aberdeen amateur Scott Larkin shared the best score of the day, three-under-par 69. Larkin won the North-east Alliance title by the runaway margin of 10 shots last year but he is only now beginning to get back to his best following a wrist operation in 2011.
A word of praise for Portlethen five-handicapper David Fleming who followed up an 81 at Fraserburgh with a one-under-par 71 today for a total of 152.
David had a couple of double bogey 6s on the way out - at the third and sixth, either side of birdies 4 and 2 at the fourth and fifth in 38 to the turn.
Coming home, Fleming bogeyed the 10th and then covered the last eight holes in four under par with birdies at the 11th, 14th, 15th and 18th for three-under 33 home.
It was the fifth best scratch score in a field of around the 90 mark. Local knowledge paying off, indeed. Fleming's "reward" - actually the luck of the computer draw - is that David has got Greig Hutcheon as his partner in scratch match-play foursomes at Murcar Links, teeing off next Monday morning.
Keith Watson (Deeside) is the lucky amateur to have drawn the pro in form, new NE Alliance champion, Philip McLean.
Because of a shortage of professionals with 36-hole totals, amateurs Scott Larkin and John Duff are nominal pros in the scratch foursomes match-play draw for the Evening Express Shield. Larkin has Newmachar's Euan Kennedy as a partner, while Duff partners David Leslie (Northern).
Claire Prouse and her father Laurence both qualified for the Press and Journal handicap foursomes match-play also starting at Murcar Links on the Thursday morning. The Hazlehead members are in opposite halves of the draw so there could be a "Family at War" situation it they both make progress.
By common consent, the Portlethen course was in terrific condition for the championship. The greens were slick - most unusual to find that sort of situation anywhere in the North-east at this time of the year - but nobody was complaining about them, not even the un-named player who putted OFF the green and into a bunker from which it took him three more shots to get down!
George Paterson managed to get it round in 72 despite three-putting four or five times.
Joel Hopwood, who had a No Return, said he was FOUR-putting regularly!
There is no doubt about it. The Portlethen course, opened in 1991, has matured into a very good test of golf, worthy of staging bigger tournaments than the North-east alliance championship, and I mean no disrespect by that.
Muriel Thomson has been the club's only professional and before I go to hand in my card to the Great Scorer in the Sky, I would like to stage a tournament at Portlethen for Scots-born lady pros only, which would be appropriate, given Muriel's presence there.
All I need is five or six North Sea Oil companies to join forces @ £5,000 or £6,000 each - and the pipedream would become a reality. But I'm not holding my breath.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCRATCH FINAL TOTALS
Par 142 (70 Fraserburgh; 72 Portlethen)
135 P McLean (Peterhead) 65 70.
136 G Hutcheon (Banchory) 66 70
139 D Law (Paul Lawrie Foundation) 70 69
143 K Nicol (Fraserburgh) 70 73.
144 S Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) 75 69
145 T Mathieson (Murcar Links) 72 73, G Paterson (Northern) 73 72
146 D Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 73 73, John Duff (Newmachar) 70 76, L Vannet (Carnoustie Links) 71 75.
147 R Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo) 71 76
148 K Watson (Deeside) 73 75, C Nelson (Mackenzie Shop) 74 74, F Bisset (Banchory) 75 73
149 E Kennedy (Newmachar) 74 75, C Carnegie (Kemnay) 71 78.
150 K Beveridge (Inchmarlo) 70 80.
151 R Lamb (Newmachar) 74 77.
152 D Fleming (Portlethen) 81 71.
153 D Leslie (Northern) 76 77
154 Claire Prouse (Hazlehead) 74 80, G Nethercott (Deeside) 78 76, J Thomas (Newmachar) 74 80, B Nicolson (Auchmill) 78 76.
156 M Lawrie (Kermnay) 77 79
158 M May (Cruden Bay) 75 83, J Nicolson (Auchmill) 75 83
159 L Prouse (Hazlehead) 76 83.
160 B Harper (Newburgh) 79 81, H Roulston (Stonehaven) 81 79.
161 I Esslemont (Cruden Bay) 78 83, J Forrest (Northern) 86 75, J Borthwick (Craibstone) 76 85, D Clark (Duff House Royal) 75 86.
163 C Cassie (Nigg Bay) 78 85, P McIntosh (Newburgh) 78 85, D McKay (Caledonian) 82 81.
164 J Hamilton (Murcar Links) 81 83
166 M Booth (Kemnay) 81 85, A Petrie (Oldmeldrum) 84 82, L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) 78 88, A Gall (Deeside) 78 88
167 J Dalgarno (Hazlehead) 83 84, C Duffus (Kemnay) 79 88.
168 J Scott (Peterculter) 80 88, M Duncan (Murcar Links) 83 85, D Wilson (Duff House Royal) 80 88.
170 T A Collie (Kemnay) 82 88
171 W Skene (Deeside) 83 88, P Murray (Kemnay) 85 86.
172 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) 84 88, A Graham (Aboyne) 83 89
173 W Shaw (Banchory) 85 88,
175 P Cornfield (Auchmill) 86 89.
176 R Brown (Newburgh) 86 90, H McNaughton (Cruden Bay) 92 84, B Lumsden (Northern) 89 87, D Nelson (Aboyne) 80 96, D Randall (Banchory) 85 91, J Murray (Banchory) 84 92.
177 N Stewart (Northern) 87 90.
178 K Stephen (Northern) 88 90.
182 P Guthrie (Peterculter) 89 93, N K Parker (Murcar Links) 89 93.
186 D Bisset (Banchory) 87 99
188 D Lawrie (Inchmarlo) 89 99
190 I Grant (Keith) 90 100, J Gall (Caledonian) 94 96.
194 D Wright (Northern) 90 104.
199 P Leech (Oldmeldrum) 94 105
202 S Davidson (Northern) 98 104.

SECOND ROUND PRIZEWINNERS
Scratch – D Law, S Larkin 69; G Hutcheon, P McLean 70; G Paterson 72.
Handicap
Class 1 – D Fleming (5), J Forrest (9) 66; K Watson (6) 69; F Bisset (3) 70; Claire Prouse (9) 71.
Class 2 – N Chisholm (11) 70; A Petrie (10) 72; H McNaughton(11), B Lumsden (14) 73; P Cornfield (15) 74.

TODAY'S SUB-PAR SCORECARDS

PORTLETHEN PAR 72: OUT 4-5-4-5-3-4-4-3-4:36 IN 3-4-3-5-4-4-4-4-5: 36

DAVID LAW 69: OUT 3-5-4-5-2-4-5-3-3: 34 IN 3-4-2-5-4-5-5-3-4: 35
SCOTT LARKIN 69: OUT 4-4-5-4-3-4-3-3-4: 34 IN 2-3-3-5-4-4-4-5-5: 35
PHILIP McLEAN 70: OUT 3-5-3-4-3-3-4-3-3: 31 IN 3-4-3-5-6-4-4-4-6: 39
GREIG HUTCHEON 70: OUT 4-6-4-5-2-5-4-3-4: 37 IN 3-4-2-4-4-4-4-6-4: 35
DAVID FLEMING 71: OUT 4-5-6-4-2-6-4-3-4: 38 IN 4-3-3--5-3-3-4-4-4: 33