UNIROYAL TROPHY GOES WEST ... AGAIN

Bill Lockie receives the Alliance Trophy from Royal Troon GC vice-captain Dr Martin Cheyne.

WEST BEAT EAST IN INTER-AREA ALLIANCE

MATCH AT TROON PORTLAND

REPORT BY MARGARET CARRELL

  What a wonderful day’s golfing today at Troon Portland Golf Course for the Annual Match against the East Alliance. Started in 1947 the score before today’s play were 36 wins West Alliance 26 wins East Alliance 2 drawn matches and 1 not played match.

The games consist of 8 Professionals for East and West and 8 amateurs from East and West.

The format today was 2 ball Foursomes in the morning which ended 6 wins for the West versus 2 wins to the East so it was all to play for in the afternoon singles round. 

As the games were finishing the East were pulling it back and at one point it was all square 7-7 then it went 8-7 west then 9-7, 11-7, 12-7, 13-7 which meant the overall winner of the Uniroyal Trophy on the day was the West. The final score was West Alliance 15.5 East Alliance 8.5.

A big thank you to all players taking time out to play today. Royal Troon Committee of Management for allowing us to use the course as well as the excellent catering and refreshments served on the day. A final thank you to Royal Troon Vice Captain Dr Martin Cheyne for presenting the trophy.

Last event for this season.

DAY 2 REPORT AND LINK TO SCORES FROM SCOTTISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP

PAUL LAWRIE WATCHES SON MICHAEL

WIN FIRST MATCH AT WEST KILBRIDE

         Michael Lawrie ... won opening tie by 4 and 3
                      Picture by courtesy of Kenny Smith
 
FROM THE SGU WEBSITE
Ewen Ferguson and Robert MacIntyre, the top seeds, stayed on course for success on day two of the Scottish Boys Championship, but a host of other talented players are targeting the crown.
On a day when West Kilbride showed its teeth as the wind picked up, the leading names generally refused to be blown away as the event stayed true to form – with former Open champion Paul Lawrie among the onlookers.
Glencruitten left-hander MacIntyre, the second seed, eased into the event with a 4 and 3 victory over Mark Hughes (Hilton Park), while Ferguson of Bearsden avoided a repeat of his opening round scare to comfortably reach round three with a 4 and 3 win against Ross Robertson (Old Course Ranfurly).
St Andrews’ Ben Kinsley and George Burns of Williamwood also progressed, meaning all eight seeds survived the first round. Intriguingly, Burns faces his club mate Fraser Davren in the next round, with the pals currently 2-2 in their head-to-head match play duels. Something has to give tomorrow.

Kinsley, meanwhile, hopes this is finally his year, his last in the Scottish Boys. The 18-year-old has reached the semi-finals on two previous occasions and has useful West Kilbride experience, having made his event debut at the venue in 2010.
The St Andrews player, a distant relation of 1893 Open champion Willie Auchterlonie, raced to a seven-hole lead against Ross Callan of Bathgate, only for the Lothians’ man to mount a sterling comeback.
Callan, whose father Stuart played in the Open Championship at Lytham in 2001, won three holes on the bounce before Kinsley finally settled the issue on the 15th.
“When he started to win those holes, I was thinking ‘what is going on here?’ But I guess you have to play the later holes sometime this week, so it was good to be tested.”
Kinsley, part of the SGU Squad who benefited from warm weather training in Abu Dhabi and South Africa over the winter, added: “Abu Dhabi was great for honing your game in good weather and South Africa saw us play good competitive golf to really get ready for the new season. I feel the benefit of that.”
Lawrie, a hero of Europe’s Ryder Cup team at Medinah, watched his youngest son, Michael, claim a first-round victory, the two-handicapper beating Craig Docherty from Turnhouse 4 and 3.
The 16-year-old’s best effort to date in the event is the third round, but he refuses to look too far ahead this week. “I’m just taking every game as it comes,” the Deeside player said. “I’ve been working hard the last few weeks to try and get my game ready for the event.
“I work with Billy Fyfe at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre. My game has been pretty good, my putting is getting a lot better. I use my dad’s putting green at home quite a lot.”
Elsewhere, there were notable 6 and 5 wins for the Franssen brothers from Inverness, Rory and Cameron, but the hopes of the youngest player in the field, Auchterarder’s Rowan Carey, only 13, ended against Joshua Murton of Felixstowe Ferry.
The homework of West Lothian’s Andrew Benson paid off as the five-handicapper made it to round two on his Boys’ debut, winning 6&4 against Stewart Burns of Pitlochry. Benson has been picking the brains of his club pro, Alan Reid, who defeated Alastair Forsyth in the 1992 Boys’ final at West Kilbride.
Late in the day, Christopher Curran (Harburn), Bathgate’s Scott McCandless and Niall McMullen of Lundin reached the third round with notable wins, before there was great drama involving the fourth seed, Murray Naysmith.
The Marriott Dalmahoy player had to dig deep to finally see off Jack Gillies of Hilton Park at the 21st, after Gillies hit two balls out of bounds down the right.
> View latest scores from the Scottish Boys Championship
> View event photos and videos on SGU Facebook
Photos: Kenny Smith Photography

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