BATTLING BRIAN WINS LEVEN GOLD MEDAL FOR SECOND TIME

Home course man Brian Soutar dug deep into his local knowledge to come from behind on a day of high winds to win the Standard Life Leven Gold Medal for a second time today (Sunday).
Soutar, the halfway leader,  lost the pole position over the third round with a 79  to Charlie Macneal but the Prestwick player was himself blown away to a closing round of seven-over 78 to finish fifth on 291.
Soutar, won this tournament - the world's oldest amateur stroke-play championship - for the first time in 2007, so he knew what was required. He got his head down to grind out par figures and regain the lead with a battling one-over 72 for a final total of three-over 287.
He won the gold medal by a single stroke  from James White (Lundin) and young US college student Lawrence Allan (Alva) who also shot 72s in the last round to tie for second place on 288, a shot behind the winner.
Both White and Allan received silver medals.
Kevin Duncan (Cruden Bay), another man well used to handling high winds on exposed links, shot a 73 to finish fourth on 290. The only man to match the par of 71 over the final round, when the CSS was a repeat of the morning 75, was Fraser Moore (Glenbervie),
That fine effort enabled him to finish joxint seventh alongside Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon).
The best 36-hole aggregate for Sunday's rounds was 143 (71-72) by Anthony Blaney (Liberton) who finished sixth. Blaney actually took eight shots fewer than the winner in the second half of the tournament
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71) CSS 73 72 75 (reduction only) 75.
287 B Soutar (Leven GS) 67 69 79 72
288 J White (Lundin) 73 69 74 72, L Allan (Alva) 69 70 77 72
290 K Duncan (Cruden Bay) 72 71 74 73
291 C Macneal (Prestwick) 71 69 73 78
292 A Blaney (Liberton) 75 74 71 72
294 F Moore (Glenbervie) 74 70 79 71, A Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 71 72 76 75
295 D Kay (Dunbar) 73 68 78 76
296 C Howie (Peebles) 73 71 73 79, L McAlpine (Royal Dornoch) 75 70 79 72, A Davidson (Charleton) 76 73 73 74, D Lawrence (Ballumbie Castle) 72 72 78 74
298 G Miller (Cawder) 75 71 75 77, S Smith (Marriott Dalmahoy) 69 75 77 77, R Bell (Downfield) 74 71 77 76, K McClung (Wigtownshire Co) 72 72 78 76, G Robertson (Silverknowes) 69 72 81 76, A Carrick (Douglas Park) 73 76 76 73
299 M Smyth (Royal Troon) 76 73 75 75, M Naysmith (Marriott Dalmahoy) 74 73 77 75, J Jamieson (St Andrews) 74 73 72 80, Michael Daily (Erskine) 75 72 73 79.
300 S Rennie (Drumpellier) 73 72 79 76, P Ratcliffe (Thornton) 73 74 74 79, N Peoples (Tantallon) 75 70 77 78, C Wallace (Balbirnie Park) 73 70 77 80, D Paterson (Leven GS) 74 75 76 75, C Low (Tantallon) 76 72 79 73.
301 A Hain (St Andrews) 75 72 76 79, L Bain (Turnhouse) 71 72 80 78.
302 A Moir (Thornton) 70 71 82 79, C O'Neil (Pollok) 74 74 73 81, Jamie Lamb (Lanark) 76 70 74 82, D Mitchell (Greenacre) 74 74 77 77
303 K Godsman (Moray) 71 76 72 84, S Hill (Leven Th) 70 73 76 84, J Duff (Newmachar) 73 73 79 78. 
305 J Shaw (Boat of Garten) 75 74 77 79
306 J Milne (Elgin) 67 77 80 82, E MacGregor (Leven GS) 73 76 77 80
307 J Harling (Banchory) 75 73 81 81
308 J Douglas (Aberdour) 70 78 82 78.