BLACK WEDNESDAY FOR FOUR SEEDS AT ROYAL DORNOCH

By Colin Farquharson
Colin@scottishgolfview.com

There are only two or the original eight seeds in the last 32 of the Scottish men's amateur championship at Royal Dornoch - top man Graeme Robertson(Glenbervie), pictured left by Cal Carson Golf Agency, and Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), pictured top right.
The survival rate of the "chosen few" was pretty good over the first two days - only Paul Shields going out on Day 1, and only Ross Bell making an early exit on Day 2 - but it was Black Wednesday as far as four more seeds were concerned.
Fraser McKenna (Balmore), the No 5 seed, who has been having an outstanding season on the domestic 72-hole circuit, went down by one hole to Colin Baird (Bothwell Castle).
Baird, by the way, lost in the next round.
Late in the day, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), beaten semi-finalist in the British Amateur at Royal Troon and the British universities champion, lost to Greig Marchbank (Dumfries and Co) in match that was always going to be a tough one for Stirling student McDonald. 
Eighteen-year-old Marchbank, winner of last week's Stephen Gallacher Foundation Scottish boys' stroke-play title, produced a hole-in-one at a critical moment of this cut-and-thrust third-round tie.
McDonald had just gone one up by winning the 12th when Marchbank holed his tee shot with a six-iron at the 180yd 13th hole. That square the contest but McDonald edged ahead again by winning the 14th.

Marchbank responded by levelling it at the 16th, and taking a winning one-hole lead at the next. The 18th was halved. 

Professional's son Jamie Savage (Cawder) claimed the scalp of the No 2 seed and South African open amateur champion Brian Soutar (Leven GS) with a 4 and 3 second-round victory.
But Savage was beaten by Fraser Moore in just about the last match to finish on a long, long day.
In Round 3, Craig Ross (Kirkhill) toppled the seeded Paul Ferrier (Baberton) by 2 and 1.
The two seeds who are alive and well in terms of the championship are Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie), the No 1, who beat Alasdair MacLennan (Kings Acre) 3 and 2 to reach the fourth round, and Matthew Clark, the banker from Kilmacolm and winner of the Newlands Trophy 72-hole event at Lanark recently.
Clark beat Fraserburgh's Justin Duff by 4 and 3.

THE LAST 32 IN THE FOURTH ROUND

Top half of draw

Charlie MacNeal v Graeme Robertson (No 1 seed)

Craig Deerness v Scott Crichton.

James White v Gordon Stevenson

Keith Shanks v Bryan Fotheringham

Craig Ross v Callum Trahan

Scott Moffat v Darren Watson

James Ross v Alexander Culverwell

Richard Docherty v Stuart Robertson.

Lower half of draw

Ross Hinshelwood v Elliot Wilson

Ian Rennie v Daniel Young

Lewis Mutch v Jamie Aitken

Christopher Young v Greig Marchbank

Matthew Clark (No 7 seed) v Donald Macandrew

Grant Forrest v Stewart Henderson

Greg Smail v Daniel Flannery

Fraser Moore v Michael Smyth 

TO VIEW ALL THE RESULTS SO FAR
ON THE SGU WEBSITE

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