THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR NEW

LINKS CHAMPION MATTY GREIG

By DEREK JOHNSTONE

It was third time lucky for Bon Accord's Matty Greig in today's (Sunday) Aberdeen Links championship final in which he beat Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) by 3 and 2.

Greig had lost both his previous appearances in the final.

This year marked Greig's 22nd consecutive appearance in the match-play stages of the Links Championship and he was beginning to doubt if he was ever going to win it.

Innes won the second with a par but birdies at 3 and 4 put Greig one up, a lead he held until the 8th which he lost to a par.  

The next three holes were halved in par before Greig went into overdrive. birdieing 12 and 13 and then parring the difficult 14 to go three up - a lead he maintained until the match finished on 16.

In the Handicap Shield, Graeme Meade (Caledonian) held a three- hole advantage at the turn against the Northern's Graeme Robertson, having birdied 4, 7 and 9, an advantage he held until he parred the par 5 15th for a 4 and 3 victory.

Murray Cup holder Jackie Forrest found himself one down at the turn but a combination of tiredness in his "old legs" and Paul Kane's back nine par golf saw Forrest succumb 4 and 3 to the younger Murcar Links player.




CAPTION FOR PICTURE
left to right:

Graeme Meade, Matty Greig and Paul Kane (picture by Derek Johnstone)

Results of Sunday's finals

ABERDEEN LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

Matty Greig (Bon Accord) bt Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) 3 and 2

HANDICAP SHIELD

Graeme Meade (Caledonian) (6) bt Graeme Robertson (Northern) (6) 4 and 3

MURRAY CUP

Paul Kane (Murcar Links) (10) bt Jackie Forrest (Northern) (12) 4 and 3