EWAN SCOTT v CRAIG HOWIE IN SATURDAY'S 36-HOLE FINAL

 Ewan Scott in action (Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency)

PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION SCOTTISH BOYS' CHAMPIONSHIP at MURCAR LINKS

Semi-final results

Howie bt Cook 2 and 1.

Ewan Scott bt Waugh
2 and 1.















                                                                Craig Howie pictured below

How the semi-finals progressed:

CRAIG HOWIE (Peebles) v CONNAR COOK (Caird Park)
Howie won the third, fourth, fifth and seventh to go 4 up.
Cook won the 10th to be 3 down.
Howie won the 11th to go back to 4 up.
Cook won the 12th and 13th to be 2 down.
Howie won 2 and 1.

EWAN SCOTT (St Andrews) v ALAN WAUGH (Cowglen)
Scott won the first to go 1 up.
Waugh won the eighth to be all square
Scott won the ninth, 11th and 12th to go 3 up.
Holes 13 and 14 halved
Waugh won 15 to be 2 down
Holes 16 and 17 halved
Scott won 2 and 1.

SUMMARY OF THE MORNING QUARTER-FINALS
FROM THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
By ED HODGE, SGU PR and Media Executive

Craig Howie, Connar Cook, Ewan Scott and Alan Waugh all made it through to the semi-finals of the Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish boys' championship at Murcar Links this morning.

On another breezy day near Aberdeen, which made scoring difficult, the quartet all claimed narrow wins to progress to the semi-finals.

Peebles’ Craig Howie, a +0.7 handicap, ended the North-east challenge after a brilliant comeback against Jake Scott.

Scott, the 16-year-old from Buckpool, came flying out of the traps to be four up after five holes, thanks to three birdies in a row from the third.

Howie, 17, won eight and nine with pars to reduce arrears, but one-handicapper Scott was still firmly in the ascendancy after a victory at the 12th with a par to return to three up.

Yet Howie, who has come through some tight matches this week including a fifth-round win at the 21st over Dominic Dougan, again dug deep to reel off four wins a row from the 13th and suddenly lead.

At the 540-yard par-5 14th, the Borderer claimed an eagle 3 to make Scott’s birdie meaningless, before also making a birdie at the short 16th.

The pair halved the 17th, before Howie found trouble at the last, first in the rough off the tee to the left and then in two bunkers, as the match went to extra holes.

But Scott’s tee shot at the 19th was almost behind a tree and he could only chip out. Howie put his second shot to eight feet, before Scott gave himself hope by knocking his third shot closer. Both missed their putts to allow Howie to progress with a par.

Howie now meets Caird Park’s Cook in the first semi-final, after the one-handicap edged out Lawrence Allan (Alva).

The 16-year-old built an early two-hole lead through the seventh, before the pair exchanged the next four holes.

Cook’s par at the 13th extended his lead to three, although Allan, a +0.9 handicap player who has been working with Gregor Monks at Brucefields near Stirling, birdied the par-3 16th to claim a hole back. A half at the penultimate hole was good enough for Cook to progress.

In arguably the stand-out tie of the quarter-final line-up, Scott and SGU Boys’ Squad team-mate Bradley Neil, both former English Under-14 winners, fought a titanic battle.

Neil, like Jake Scott before him earlier in the day, raced into a four-hole lead after five holes, helped with birdies at the fourth and fifth.

But Scott, 16, soon hit back with wins at six, seven and eight, thanks to Neil’s two bogeys and a concession. Bradley, also 16, went two up again after Scott’s bogey at the 10th, but he then made bogey himself at 11 to return to one up.

It was all square after Ewan’s birdie at the 13th before the next four holes were halved to send the drama to the 18th.

Scott pulled his second shot left of the green while Neil found the heart of the green. Ewan looked to have handed his opponent victory when he left his chip some 12 feet shot, but Neil was then some eight feet short with his first putt. Scott holed and Neil missed to hand the St Andrews player victory.

In the final match of the day, Cowglen’s Waugh, 17, was three down after eight holes to Lewis Bain, the Lothians junior champion from Turnhouse with a 0.3 handicap, and still two down with four to play.

But, continuing the theme of comebacks this morning, Waugh – playing off a 2.1 handicap - turned the tide in some style to play the last four holes in one under par.

Waugh won 15, 16 and 17 before seeing out the game at the 18th to set up his semi-final with Scott.