Steven Young wins place in US PGA 

Championship but Lee Rhind fails

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Steven Young, the former Walker Cup player from Inverallochy, Aberdeenshire and now on the pro staff at Midland Country Club, Texas, has earned himself a place in the field for the last major tournament of the season - the US PGA championship at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin in August.
Young, pictured right, who won the Scottish boys' championship three years in a row and also the British boys' title in the 1990s, had to come through big fields at two tournaments to get there. First he qualified from a West Texas PGA eliminator to play in the US PGA national championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club, Flourtown, Pennsylvania.
There he shot a four-round aggregate of 285 to finish tied 16th behind Matt Dobyns who won for the second time in three years with a total of 279 (72-69-68-70), one of the few players to finish under par over a difficult course.
Steven had scores of 69, 71, 72 and 73.
By finishing in the top 20, Young gained a place in the US PGA championship alongside Rory McIlroy and Co.
Also on the Midland Country Club pro staff is Lee Rhind (pictured below) from Uphall, who won the Scottish boys' stroke-play title in 1997 at Downfield.

He missed the third-round cut in the US PGA national champonship with scores of 70, 76 and 77 for 223.
The championship decided eight of the 10 places in the American team for the PGA Cup match against GB and Ireland at CordeValle, San Martin inCalifornia from September 18 to 20.
They are: Matt Dobyns, Ben Poland, Michael Block, Grant Sturgeon, Alan Morin, Jamie Broce, Stuart Deane and Bob Sowards.
ends

Molly's Bistro Aberdeen Pennant League semi-finals on August 9

Murcar Links v Royal Aberdeen at Banchory

and Banchory v Deeside at Newmachar

By DEREK JOHNSTONE
After Bon Accord's 3.5-1.5 victory over Portlethen tonight, three teams tied on six points at the end of the sectional matches in League B of the Molly's Bistro Aberdeen Pennant League.
Title-holders Murcar Links prevailed as League B winners by virtue of a games won-lost difference of +6 compared to a difference of +5 for Bon Accord and +3 for Portlethen. 
Following their crushing 5-0 defeat of Auchmill this evening Deeside qualified for the semi-finals as best runners-up on a games won-lost difference of +15 and will now meet League C winners, Banchory at Newmachar in the semi-finals.  
In the other semi-final, Murcar Links will play old adversaries Royal Aberdeen at Banchory with a noon start on Sunday, August 9.
The draw for the semi-finals, to be played on Sunday, August 9, is:
 
Murcar Links v Royal Aberdeen
Venue:   Banchory
First Tee Time: Noon

Banchory v Deeside
Venue:  Newmachar
First Tee Time:  11.56 am

 +Final scheduled for Hazlehead on September 13

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS

Deeside 5, Auchmill 0
Tom Rennie and David Halliday bt Les Taylor and Alex Allen 9 and 7.
David Macklin and Jamie Hall bt Conor Brand and Wayne Gibson 8 and 7.
Benjamin Henderson and Chris Black bt Keith Duncan and Michael Braidwood 9 and 7.
Kevin Willox and Lewys Anderson bt Johnny Gregor and Mike Allen 5 and 4.
Keith Ingram and Steven Smith bt Graeme May and Chris McConachie 10 and 8 

Newmachar 5, Nigg Bay 0
Greg Ingram and Neil Melvin bt N Slater and L O'Conner 5 and 4
Mark McKechnie and Martin Lawrence bt R Nielson and I Welsh 5 and 4.
Jamie Wilson and Chris Simpson bt S Jamieson and B Bruce 5 and 4.
Calvin Cheyne and Euan Kennedy bt R Forbes and A Thouless 4 and 3.
Chris Lamb and Mike Lynch bt G Stewart and G Grimmer 5 and 4.

Bon Accord 3.5, Portlethen 1.5

B Edmond  and M Edmond bt C Brechin  and  C Grant 4 and 3.
Matt Greig and D Grieve halved with G Innes and K Daglish
M Dunn and R Allerton bt K Horne and G Esson 4 and 3
A Shand and  G McLaggan bt L Shand and B Murray 1 hole
G Mitchell and G Somers lost to S Lawrie and R Murdoch 4 and 3

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE

Sponsored by:

Molly’s Bistro/Malones Irish Bar

(Aberdeen Douglas Hotel)

 FINAL TABLES

SEMI-FINAL QUALIFIERS IN RED PRINT

LEAGUE A

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Royal Aberdeen	4	3	1	0	15	5	7
Deeside	4	3	0	1	15	5	6
Hazlehead	4	2	1	1	11	9	5
Caledonian	4	1	0	3	5½	14½	2
Auchmill	4	0	0	4	3½	16½	0

LEAGUE B

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Murcar Links	4	3	0	1	13	7	6
Bon Accord	4	3	0	1	12½	7½	6
Portlethen	4	3	0	1	11½	8½	6
Peterculter	4	1	0	3	8	12	2
Northern	4	0	0	4	5	15	0

LEAGUE C

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Banchory	4	3	1	0	15½	4½	7
Newmachar	4	3	0	1	14½	5½	6
Nigg Bay	4	2	1	1	10	10	5
Stonehaven	4	1	0	3	5½	14½	2
Craibstone	4	0	0	4	4½	15½	0

     

Dubuisson delights French crowds at Alstom Open as thunderstorms disrupt first day

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Frenchman Victor Dubuisson delighted the home crowds with a three under par 68 at the Alstom Open de France in a first round disrupted by thunderstorms.

The 25 year old, pictured, had a share of the clubhouse lead, alongside Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and South African Jaco Van Zyl, when play was suspended just before 9pm, with Germany’s Max Kieffer one better at four under par with four holes remaining.
An early storm had also delayed the start of round one at Le Golf National, but Dubuisson soon found his rhythm, reaching the turn in level par then producing three birdies on the way home.
His Ryder Cup team-mate and playing partner Martin Kaymer, who won here in 2009, opened with a 69, while Graeme McDowell, looking for his third consecutive win in the €3million tournament, was one over par playing the last.
Quotes:
Victor Dubuisson
“I had a really unlucky bogey on 14 with three good shots, and then the most difficult holes were coming – 15, 16 and 18.  I managed to stay calm and make a really good birdie on 18.  It could have turned really ‑‑ on this course, it can turn really bad, and what I did today was very good especially with all this pressure. I’m very pleased. I feel the expectation and a little bit of pressure from the crowd, because I especially want to do well for them, more than in other tournaments. This one is like a Major for me.”
Bernd Wiesberger
“I played okay.  I was not driving it great early on, and I scrambled around and had a couple of four‑ and five‑footers for par. But the chances I had, I took nicely. I was just those two hiccups on the last, the three‑putt and not getting up and down from beside the green on the ninth.
“In general, given the windy conditions early on, I’m quite happy with that. I think it's just a great test overall.  From the first hole to the last, you're under pressure and you need to hit really good shots to make birdies.”
Jaco Van Zyl
“It’s one of those golf courses where there are a couple of holes you can score on, but you can never really let your guard down. But everything is kind of there. It’s just that one day I’ll be hitting it nicely and the putter is not behaving, and the next day the putter is behaving but I’m not hitting it as well.  I’m just waiting for it all to come back in one piece and then hopefully it will be a good week.”
Martin Kaymer
“You can take advantage of the front nine a little bit – you will have some chances because they don't play that long. The 15th to 18th are very challenging holes and I did very well there today.  So that was a huge motivation for the front nine, so my back nine. I’m very pleased with two under. The last few tournaments, I’ve played with Rory (McIlroy) in Wentworth and Ireland, and then the US Open, that was a huge one. Last week I played in my own country and this week played with Victor (Dubuisson), so I feel like there's a lot going on around my groups, but it's nice. You don’t want to play in front of ten people, you want to play in front of hundreds.”

Challenge Tour report and scores from Germany

Red-hot Ricardo produces Hartl gold

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Ricardo Gouveia continued his remarkable form on the European Challenge Tour to card a scorching course-record 63 in the German sunshine and take a two-shot lead after day one of the AEGEAN Airlines Challenge Tour by Hartl Resort.
The in-form Portuguese is the only man in the top 15 of the Road to Oman Rankings to have made the weekend at every event he has played this season but is still in search of a first win of the year, having earned victory in his seventh professional start at last year's EMG Golf Challenge Open.
The 23 year old charged into a commanding early lead after tearing apart the Beckenbauer Course, at the expansive German golfing mecca in the Bavaria region, with a flawless eight-under round which comprised six birdies and an eagle.
The confident young Vilamoura player experienced a relative slump in form over the last two weeks – having finished in the top ten for five consecutive weeks prior to a tied 35th finish in France a fortnight ago and a share of 19th in Scotland last week – but he believes he is back on track and is hoping to double his trophy haul on the Challenge Tour this week.
“I played really well today,” he said. “I holed a few putts which was the difference from the last few weeks. I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well recently and the putts just haven’t dropped but today I was able to hole a few good ones and to shoot the course record is just a bonus.
“I wouldn’t say things are coming easy for me now, I just think it’s the hard work paying off – everything I’ve done for the past four or five years in college. The transition was good and obviously the end of last year was really good for me, it gave me a lot of confidence."
Gouveia’s closest challengers came in the shape of local favourite Marcel Schneider, who entered this week brimful of confidence after a tied 20th finish at The European Tour’s BMW International Open last week, and Englishman Paul Howard.
A six under par 65 is the best score of Schneider’s short Challenge Tour career, and means is he is the leading German heading into the second round.”
Another German, Max Kramer, was a shot further back on six under, alongside Sweden’s Björn Åkesson, while Scot David Law, coming out of a form slump, was joined in sixth place by South African Dean Burmester and Belgium's Hugues Joannes.#


FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
par 71
63 R Gouveia (Por) ,
65 M Schneider (Ger) , P Howard  (Eng) ,
66 B Åkesson (Swe) , M Kramer  (Ger) ,
67 H Joannes  (Bel) , D Law (Sco) , D Burmester (RSA) ,
68 R Evans  (Eng) , A Ahokas (Fin) , J Walters (RSA) ,
69 N Ravano (Ita) , J Rask (Swe) , C Gloet  (Den) , P Winther (Den) , P Meesawat  (Tha) , C Arendell (USA) , J Huldahl (Den) , J Fahrbring (Swe) , R Coles (Eng) , N Geyger (Chi) , M Southgate  (Eng) , B Ritthammer (Ger) ,
70 J Ballesteros (Esp) , J Watts (Eng) , J Guerrier  (Fra) , M Fenasse (Fra) , D Im (USA) , A Hortal  (Esp) , R Enoch  (Wal) , D Foos (Ger) , J Robinson (Eng) , B Parker  (Eng) , A Björk (Swe) , S Gros (Fra) , N Elvira  (Esp) , B Stone (RSA) , N Kimsey (Eng) , W Booth  (Sco) , E Goya (Arg) ,
71 N Quintarelli (Ita) , A Bernadet  (Fra) , D Frittelli (RSA) , A Snobeck  (Fra) , J Winther (Den) , C Mivis  (Bel) , M Søgaard  (Den) , B Paolini (USA) , A Knappe (Ger) , P Relecom  (Bel) , R Megens (Bel) , C Aguilar  (Esp) , C Selfridge  (Nir) , E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) , S Arnold  (Aus) , M Wiegele  (Aut) , E Dubois (Fra) , J Kunzenbacher (Ger) , F Praegant (Aut) ,
72 J Sarasti  (Esp) , R Kellett (Sco) , T Putkonen (Fin) , J Senior (Eng) , P Widegren  (Swe) , P Karantzias (Gre) , D Ulrich (Sui) , S Jeppesen  (Swe) , O Stark (Swe), N Bertasio (Ita) , C Ford (Eng) , J Elson  (Eng) , H Porteous (RSA) , M Orrin (Eng) , D Palm (Swe) , P Herreria (Esp) , R Fox (Nzl) , J Simon De Miguel (Esp) , W Besseling  (Ned) , A Altuntas (am) (Tur) ,
73 J White (Eng) , R Santos  (Por) , N Lemke (Swe) , R Whitson (Nir) , T Tree (Eng) , G Snow  (Ken) , T Pilkadaris (Aus) , L Gagli  (Ita), S Kannler (Ger) , S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) , N Floren (Swe) , J Gonnet  (Fra) , T Gornik (Slo) , A Bruschi (Ita) , S Kim (USA) , A Domingo (Esp) , J Sjöholm (Swe) , B Etchart  (Esp) ,
74 S Heisele (Ger) , N Kristensen  (Den) , B Hafthorsson (Isl) , J Carlota (Por) , S Piaget  (Mon) , M Jonzon (Swe) , G Lockerbie  (Eng) , K Ferrie (Eng) , F Laporta (Ita) , M Trappel  (Aut) , G Shaw (Nir) ,
75 K Benz (Sui) , M Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , F Becker (Ger) , L Corfield  (Eng) , L Motta (Ita) , A Halvorsen  (Nor) , N Kearney (Irl) , N Raymond (Eng) , G Woolgar (Eng) , S Echikson  (Bel) , P Figueiredo  (Por) , A Eckhardt (Fin) ,
76 A Rajmont  (Cze) , H Bacher (Aut) , M Delpodio  (Ita) , J Harrison (Eng) , L Claverie (Esp) , C Berardo (Fra) , C Brazillier  (Fra) , M Röhrig (Ger) , J Dantorp (Swe) , M Lafeber (Ned) , B Reil (am) (Ger) ,
77 L Nemecz (Aut) , O Henningsson  (Swe) , D Kemmer (USA) , A Romano  (Ita) , C Hanson (Eng) , A Kritikos (Gre) , S Akarsu (am) (Tur) ,
79 S Einhaus (Ger) , P Tarver-Jones (Eng) , F Bergamaschi (Ita) , T Nemecz (Aut) , H Yamac (Tur) ,
80 P Gal  (Cze) , A Korinek (Cze) , J Hahn (USA) ,
81 A Rota (Ita) , T Sluiter  (Ned) ,
82 Y Kafelnikov (Rus) , D Suchan  (Cze) ,
83 A Wennstam (Swe) , P Dedek (am) (Cze) , M Gehr (am) (Ger) ,
86 H Engdahl (Swe) ,
** N Meitinger  (Ger) , S Grant  (Irl) ,




EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Clark, Moultrie, Stewart  tied for lead on 70 in the Central Scotland  Seniors Open 

By GORDON THOMSON

Ronnie Clark (Erskine), Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon) and Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) are tied for the lead with excellent scores of 70 at the end of the first round in the Central Scotland Seniors Open at Glenbervie

Scoring conditions were very good for most of the day but the late starters, who included Clark, bidding for a hat-trick of wins in this event, encountered heavy rain for the last two hours of play.

Laurie Chancellor (Inverness) is one stroke behind the leaders, followed by four players on 72, including former internationals, George Barrie (Callander) and Ian Brotherston (Dumfries and County) who won the  Scandinavian Seniors Championship in Sweden last week.

With 18 players on 74 or lower, an exciting day’s play is in prospect tomorrow on the highly rated Glenbervie  course which was in fine condition and presented an excellent test for the high quality field.

The  CSS  was 73   for the par 71 course.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES

70 R Stewart (Tulliallan), P Moultrie (Royal Troon), R Clark (Erskine).

71 L Chancellor (Inverness)

72 I Brotherston (Dumfries and Co), G Barrie (Callander), T McLevy (Blairgowrie), G Rees (Fleetwood)

73 W Erskine (Kilsyth Lennox), S Finnie (Royal Aberdeen), M Reid (Sonning), I Angus (Duff House Royal), L Blair (Grangemouth)

74 L Gordon (Turnhouse), K Reilly (Silverknowes), R Gray (Troon St Medans), J McDonald (Cowglen), D Hamilton (Mortonhall), I Dickson (Gullane)

75 M Townsley (Dumfries and Co), K Gallacher (East Kilbride), A Ferguson (Dunferline), J S Macdonald (Dunfermline), I Sirel (Largs), L Pirie (Millport), A Hogg (Turnhouse), P Dempsey (Tulliallan), G McNab (Lundin)

76 R Craw (Glenbervie), S Millar (Cochrane Castle), I R Dickson (Lundin), T Stafford (Blairgowrie), G Sharp (Dumfries and Co), G Rodaks (Pitreavie), D Imrie (Turnhouse)  D Shields (Glenearn), C Barrowman (Glasgow)
77 A MacGregor (Hazlehead), B Muir (Dalmahoy), G MacDonald (Glenvervie), K Bruce (Edzell), D Logie (Craigie Hill), D Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie), R Smith (Nairn).
78 D McQuade (Glenbervie), B Humble (Kilspindie), I Taylor (Eyemouth), D Taylor (Dunfermline), G McLeod (Glenbervie), J D Gardner (Broomieknowe), J Johnston (Lanark), T Patterson (Sunningdale), I Gourlay (Strathven), J Archibald (Luffness New), P O'Neill (East Kilbride), S Drysdale (Turnhouse)
79 K McArthur (Balbirnie Park), K Gardiner (Letham Grange), A Smith (Turriff), J Fraser (Royal Burgess), A Harrington (Western Gailes), G Crawford (Williamwood), B Bingham (Royal Troon), M Ferguson (Stirling), J Aman (Grangemouth), A Ross (Northumberland), S Calder (Uphall), D Gillespie (Turnhouse).
80 A Miller (Cochrane Castle), D Millar (St Andrews G Mannering (Bothwell Castle), C Halcrow (Windyhill), K Davidson (Musselburgh), D McLaughlin (Bothwell Castle), J Houston (Greenock).

LEADING NET SCORES
69 R Stewart (Tulliallan) (1)
70 L Chancellor (Inverness) (1), G Barrie (Callander) (2), J S Macdonald (Dunfermline) (5, G Rees (Fleetwood) (2)
71 W Erskine (Kilsyth Lennox) (2), I R Dickson (Lundin) (5), A  Hogg (Turnhouse) (4) 
72 D McQuade (Glenbervie) (6) L Gordon (Turnhouse) (2), S Finnie (Royal Aberdeen) (1), R Gray (Troon St Medans (2), J McDonald (Cowglen) (2), D Hamilton (Mortonhall) (2), T McLevy (Blairgowrie (scr), I Dickson (Gullane) (2), P Dempsey (Tulliallan) (3), L Blair (Grangemouth) (1).
73 A MacGregor (Hazlehead) (4), R Craw (Glenbervie) (3), M Reid (Sonning) (6), M Townseley (Dumfries and Co) (2), I Angus (Duff House Royal) (scr), G Sharp (Dumfries and Co) (3), I Gourlay (Strathaven) (5), T Sirel (Largs) (2), P Moultrie (Royal Troon) (+3), G Rodaks (Pitreavie) (3), P O'Neill (East Kilbride) (5) 

Classy Jamie Stewart wins Global Golf Post 

                  Picture of Jamie Stewart by courtesy of the SGU

Under-16s title by five strokes at Arbroath

Jamie Stewart put the host country back on the winners' roll with a brilliant 15-under-par aggregate of 265 - a tournament record -  to win the Global Golf Post Scottish Under-16 boys' open championship from an international field over Arbroath Golf Club's par 70 links course, writes Colin Farquharson
Stewart, 16-year-old junior member of Old Ranfurly Golf Club, will soon be off to Switzerland with Darren Howie (Peebles) as Scotland's representatives in the European Young Masters.
If Jamie can keep this kind of form going until then, he must have a chance of bringing home that title.
Stewart closed with rounds of 69 and 65 to win by five shots from the best of the foreign legion sent over by the French, Theo Berger. 
Berger showed his class with a final round of 64 for 270. He had an eagle and seven birdies and a superb inward half of 30.
But he could hardly make an impression on the front-running Stewart who had six birdies and one bogey in his last round.
Over the 72 holes, young Stewart had a grand bag of 24 birdies with not a single double bogey
Howie, who was second to Stewart at halfway, finished fourth with rounds of 69 and 70 for 272.
Stewart is only the second Scottish winner of the Under-16s title in the past six years. He follows in the footsteps of Ben Kinsley (St Andrews) in 2011 and, before that Grant Forrest in 2009. Forrest won the Scottish amateur championship at Royal Dornoch in 2012.
+Scroll down for the SGU website report and Kenny Smith's picture of Stewart with the trophy.

GLOBAL GOLF POST SCOTTISH UNDER-16 BOYS' OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Arbroath Golf Club, Angus
FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70) SS 70 CSS 69 70 70 69
265 J K Stewart (Old Ranfurly) 65 66 69 65
270 T Berger (Fra) 66 71 69 64.
271 J Benson (Beeston Fields) 69 66 68 68
272 D Howie (Peebles) 66 67 69 70
278 D Mary (Fra) 68 71 66 73, M Fernandez de Olivaira (Arg) 69 69 70
280 A Flanagan (St George's Hill) 71 73 70 66, J Ainscough (Hartlepool) 71 71 68 70, J Blunden (Wrekin) 70 71 71 68
281 C Burns (Balmore) 73 68 74 66, J Wilson (Tyneside) 67 70 73 71
282 A Petit (Fra) 74 69 69 70, H Hyest (Fra) 73 69 72 68, T Stote (Burnham and Berrow) 73 68 69 72, 211 J Skov Olesen (Den) 71 69 71 71, T Boulanger (Fra) 71 69 69 73, A Laussot (Fra) 70 68 73 71
283 Y Ducler (Fra) 69 68 73 73, M Watt (Inverallochy) 70 69 74 70, P L Gachet (Fra) 68 70 74 71
284 Jonathan Albert (Fra) 72 72 66 74, K Bowman (St Andrews New) 70 74 70 70, S Stedman (Chart Hills) 74 70 71 69, N Lacroix (Fra) 69 71 73 71, L Kelly (Ashton-under-Lyne) 72 69 76 67
285 G Saunders (Meon valley) 71 71 72 71
286 J Dinouard (Fra) 70 71 75 70, R MacIntosh (Fra) 67 70 76 73, C Bruce (Duff House Royal) 70 72 70 74, J Audibert (Fra) 69 74 73 70, A Syed (Foxhills) 70 74 75 67
287 F V Ruess (Ger) 72 68 74 73, C Duha (Fra) 72 71 74 70
288 A Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire) 71 72 69 76
289 C Salter (Northants) 71 69 76 73
290 D Larvaron (Fra) 72 69 75 74, A Moir (Elgin) 68 75 74 73
292 J Demant (Fra) 72 72 73 75, A Simpson (Strathmore) 70 74 75 73
293 H Ottley-Wood (Cotswold Hills) 74 67 76 76
294 G Luck (Fra) 70 74 73 77
295 C Petrie (Luffenham Heath) 70 74 75 76, J Paterson (St Andrews New) 71 73 79 72
299 K Reid (Balmore) 72 72 72 83
305 B Rendell (Clacton-on-Sea) 70 74 79 82.

  Jamie Stewart with the championship trophy. Picture by courtesy of Kenny Smith and the SGU website.

Record-breaking performance from Stewart

FROM THE SGU WEBSITE
Jamie Stewart produced a dominant final day display to capture the Global Golf Post Scottish Boys Under-16s Championship in record breaking fashion at Arbroath.
The 16-year-old from Old Ranfurly, who had held the overnight lead on 9-under par, fired a morning round of 69 to main his advantage, before recording his second 5-under 65 of the week to romp home by a five-shot margin, becoming the first Scot since Ben Kinsley in 2011 to lift the trophy and the lowest final total recorded in the event’s 32 year history.
His nearest challenger was Frenchman Theo Berger, who finished the championship with a stunning back nine of 30, which included three consecutive birdies from the tenth and an eagle-birdie finish for a closing 64. 
The Palmola youngster clinched the silver-medal on 10-under par, with England’s Jake Benson on 9-under 271 in third place, a shot clear of Peebles’ Darren Howie.
Howie, the Scottish Schools Champion and Scotland U-16s team-mate of Stewart, finished with rounds of 69 and 70 to end the week in fourth place, giving him confidence ahead of his trip to Switzerland for the European Young Masters later this month.
A delighted Stewart said: “It’s great to bag my first big win and I’d like to thank David Orr, George Boswell (coaches) and Andrew MacIntyre for their help in developing my game this year. 
"I was a little nervous going into the final round in the lead, but a birdie-birdie start helped relax me and set me up going into the back nine with a three-shot lead.
“The key all week was solid putting and I put myself in good positions off the tee in every round. I didn’t find a single fairway bunker all week and my course management was good. It helped playing with Darren (Howie) today as he’s a good friend of mine.
As for his goals, Stewart added: “My aim for the remainder of the season is to make the Boys' Home Internationals Team and win another big Under-16s event so hopefully I can achieve both of those.”
Callum Burns (Balmore) clinched a top-10 finish with a superb final round of 66 to end the week as the third highest Scot on the leaderboard on 281, one-over par, with Inverallochy’s Marc Watt sharing 18th place on 3-over.
One of the other highlights of the day was a spectacular albatross 2 from France’s Chayan Duha at the par-five 17th to catapult him into 32nd place, a shot ahead of Alex Fitzpatrick, younger brother of former US Amateur Champion Matt.
Stewart joins an impressive list of former Under-16s champions which include Challenge Tour stars Peter Whiteford, George Murray and Wallace Booth, as well as recent Amateur Championship runner-up Grant Forres, winner of the Scottish amateur championship at Royal Dornoch in 2012.