Wednesday, August 09, 2006

SCOTS v IRISH FOR BOYS' TITLE

DRAW WITH ENGLAND MEANS SCOTLAND
MUST FINISH BY BEATING IRELAND


What a difference 12 months make in golf! This time last year Scotland were playing Ireland to avoid the wooden spoon in the boys’ home internationals.
On Thursday, over the Moray Golf Club’s Old Course links at Lossiemouth, the Scots and the Irish go head-to-head for the title and the R&A Trophy.
Scotland must beat the Irish to be champions. A draw would be good enough to start the celebrations in the Ireland camp.
In a nail-biting finish to the second day’s action, Scotland were held to a 7 ½-7 ½ draw by England after Ireland had walloped Wales 10 ½-4 ½ for their second win.
Ireland were the last team other than England to win the Under-18 boys’ championship and that was as long ago as 1997. Scotland have not won the trophy since 1995.

In very windy (gusting over 40mph by the end of the afternoon) and sometimes wet conditions, the Scots looked like losing the foursomes 4-1 at one stage after the turn against England but finished so well that they actually took a 3-2 lead into the singles.
It was nip and tuck in the afternoon session. Lewis Kirton (Newmachar) maintained his 100 per cent record through four sessions of play. He beat the English boys’ champion, Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) by one hole, having led almost throughout.
Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) lost by 5 and 4 to Luke Goddard (Hendon) before James Byrne (Banchory) beat Sam Hutsby (Lee on the Solent), the Spanish men’s open amateur champion and England team captain, by 2 and 1 in a very good tie which was all square after 15 holes.
Scottish boys’ stroke-play champion Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) went down by 4 and 3 to Adam Hodkinson (Hallowes) after slipping three down over the first six holes.
Shaun’s clubmate and stroke-play runner-up Zack Saltman lost by 5 and 4 to 15-year-old Eddie Pepperell (Frilford Heath). Saltman was two down at the turn and four down after 12.
Chris Robinson (Wigtown & Bladnoch) restored Scotland’s overall lead at 6-5 with a 3 and 2 win over Nick McCarthy (Moortown), having been two up at the turn.
With four ties still to finish in the wild conditions which had grounded even some seagulls – a pair of them SAT on the 18th green while one tie was in progress - , Scotland still need to get two points to ensure victory over the Auld Enemy.
Scottish boys’ match-play champion James White (Lundin) delivered the first one – matching Lewis Kirton’s four wins out of four – by beating Tom Oliver (Notts) by 3 and 2. White led by two holes after six and stayed in the driving seat for the rest of the tie.
With Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) losing an early three-hole lead before losing on the last green to Dale Whitnell (Forrester Park) and Ross Kellett (Colville Park) going down by 3 and 1 to Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford), it was now 7-7 and all down to the Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) v Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex) tie.
Stevenson had been two up at the turn and one up after 12 but the match was all square through the last few holes. In the very difficult conditions, the last hole was halved as well leaving Scotland and England tied up at 7 1/2pt each – leaving Ireland the favourites to win the R&A Trophy.

Ireland took the foursomes 4-1 from Wales and added steadily to their lead through the singles. Joseph Vickery and Richard Merchant of Wales won the last two of the 10 ties to avert a landslide Ireland victory.
Niall Kearney (Royal Dublin) and Andrew Hogan (Newlands) have been the top performers for Ireland so far with four wins out of four.
Kearney beat Rhys Enoch by 2 and 1 in the top Ireland-Wales singles. Niall edged ahead on the inward half after being all square at the turn.
Hogan beat Marc Lewis (Borth & Ynyslas) by 3 and 2 after being four up at the turn.
Paul Cutler (Portstewart) was denied a seemingly certain victory – three up with three to play – when his opponent Zack Gould (Vale of Glamorgan) won the last three holes to salvage a square match.
Apart from Kearney and Hogan, Ireland’s other singles winners against Wales were Gary McGrane (Royal Dublin), Luke Lennox (Moyola Park) and Liam Reilly (Galgorm Castle).

And the scoreline 12 months ago between Scotland and Ireland? Scotland 8 1/2, Ireland 6 ½ … but, as they say, 12 months is a long time in Under-18 boys’ golf.

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