Aberdeen Links Championship Semi-final results

DEREK JOHNSTONE REPORTS

Friday’s evening’s Links Championship Final will be contested by three times  champion Barrie Edmond of the Bon Accord and Northern club champion Liam Minty. 

Edmond, title-winner in 2010, 2012 and 2013, birdied the first and third to take an early lead over Royal Aberdeen Medal winner, Ron Evett. In a low scoring match, parity was eventually assumed when Evett parred the 11^th and birdied the 12th.

The 13^th was halved in birdie before Edmond won the difficult 14^th in par and 17with a birdie for a hard fought 2 and 1 victory.

In the other semi-final, Minty who disposed of former champion Stewart Finnie in the quarter-finals, soon settled into his rhythm and after seven holes was four up on Matty Greig of the Bon Accord.  Although Greig pulled one back with a par on ten, Minty closed the match by birdieing 12 and parring 14 for a 5 and 5 win.

The Handicap Shield Final will be an all-Northern affair, with clubmates Graeme Robertson and Walter Rae going head-to head.  Robertson seemed to be cruising to victory when he found himself dormie five up.
 However, Levi Ross had other ideas and successive wins at 14, 15 and 16 significantly reduced the deficit.  A half in par on 17 was enough to settle Robertson’s fraying nerves and give him a 2 and 1 win.

Murray Cup defending champion, 13 year old Brook Smith, continued his ambition of retaining the trophy when beating the Northern’s Benny Lumsden 2 and 1.  In a tight match, Smith won the 6^th and 9^th to lead by two at the turn. 
Lumsden quickly pulled one back with a par on ten and this slender advantage was maintained until the sixteenth. Having missed right, a great up and down by Smith for par was not matched by his opponent giving him a two hole advantage and a resultant 2 and 1 victory.

Smith will play Caledonian clubmate Doug McPherson in the final.. McPherson, six up after seven, ran out a comfortable 5 and 4 winner over Alan Pirie of the Northern.

Semi-final Results

SCRATCH

B Edmond (Bon Accord) bt R Evett (Northern) 2 and 1

L Minty (Northern) bt M Greig (Bon Accord) 5 and 4

HANDICAP SHIELD

G Robertson(Northern) (6) bt L Ross (Caledonian) (9) 2 and 1

W Rae (Northern) (9) bt S Kennedy (Northern) (8) 2 and 1

MURRAY CUP

B Smith (Caledonian) (11) bt B Lumsden (Northern)(12) 2 and 1

D MacPherson (Caledonian) (14) bt A Pirie (Northern)(11) 5 and 4

FRIDAY'S FINALS

SCRATCH

5.0 Edmond v Minty

HANDICAP SHIELD

5.15 Robertson v Rae

MURRAY CUP

5.30 Smith v MacPherson