Standard Life golf captain Barry McDermott, Keir McNicoll and Leven Golfing Society captain Alastair Rennie (Cal Carson Golf Agency image, all rights reserved). Click to enlarge the images.

McNicoll wins Leven Gold

Medal play-off after

Henry's last-hole slip

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Scott Henry, winner of two Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit 72-hole tournaments this season, looked all set to add the Standard Life Leven Gold Medal to his Edward Trophy and Sutherland Chalice successes with just one hole to go at the weather-hit Leven Links venue.
In the last pair to finish, the Cardross man needed “only” a par 4 at the 18th hole to win the oldest amateur stroke-play golf championship in the world by a shot from Scott Borrowman (Dollar), Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) and Comrie’s Wallace Booth.
Instead, the Cardross man send his approach shot 50 yards right of the target, out of bounds over the high wall of a bowling green. Apparently, the rough he had driven in to, twisted his clubface open at the moment of impact and, consequently, he hit the ball straight right.
The hole cost Henry a double bogey 6 for a 72 and a 10-under-par total of 274.
So he missed out on the sudden-death play-off featuring the trio who finished on 273.
Victory and the Leven Gold Medal went to St Andrews Links Trophy champion McNicoll, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency in the play-off action, with a par 3 at the second extra hole, the short 15th .after they had all had par 4s at the first.
Booth, winner of the Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship this summer, was bunkered at the second extra hole and bogeyed it as did Borrowman with three putts after a too-strong tee shot. They both received silver medals as joint runners-up.
McNicoll’s final round of 67 included an eagle 2 at the third and an eagle 3 at the 12th. He also birdied the second, 10TH and 13 in halves of 33 and 34. He needed the sub-par figures to cancel out bogeys at the fifth, sixth and 16th.
McNicoll declined afterwards to talk to the only golf writer present.
In his closing 69 (35-34), Booth birdied the third, 11th, 14th and 16th while Borrowman surged into contention with a bogey-free 66 (32-34) which included birdies at the fifth, sixth, 11th, 12th, and 13th
Paul O’Hara (Colville Park), who led through the second and third rounds, lost his advantage with a final round of one-over-par 72 to share joint fourth place on 274 with Henry.
Leven Golfing Society member Brian Soutar made a stout defence of the title, setting the clubhouse target in mid-afternoon of 277, thanks to a pair of fine 67s in the third and fourth rounds. It was only in the closing stages that he was demoted to ninth place.
Clubmate and Standard Life Insurance Golf Captain Barry McDermott also did very well to finish on 279.
One of the surprising non-qualifiers for the final two rounds was Steven McEwan (Caprington), beaten finalist in the Scottish amateur championship and the leader of the SGU Order of Merit. With rounds of 83 and 72 for 155, he missed out by nine shots.
The man who beat him in the final at Carnoustie, Callum Macaulay (Tulliallan) finished joint 17th on 282, one-over-par 72s in his second and fourth rounds blunted his challenge
There were two holes in one which earned Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie), who is teetotal, and past Leven Golfing Society champion Euan Bullions, playing as a marker, a bottle of spirits of their choice. It was a second ace for both, Glenn with a six-iron at the 15th (189yd) in the first round and Euan with an eighth iron at the seventh (182yd) in the third round. Euan’s first hole in one was at the same hole earlier this season.
On a weather note, the Leven Golfing Society organisers of the tournament did well to finish the 72-holes and the play-off by 8pm on the Sunday evening, considering that the start of play on the Sunday morning had to be delayed an hour until the overnight flooding by the Scoonie Burn had subsided.
Saturday’s first and second rounds had been a nightmare for the officials with torrential rain causing suspensions of play. During the later stages of the second round the Scoonie Burn rose so high that it flooded the 18th green – a very rare occurrence and the stop-start-stop play did not finally end until after darkness at 9pm. But everyone got round 36 holes.
On Sunday the only trace of the bad weather were lakes formed on the 18th fairway by the water from the burn that had flowed there overnight. The seagulls liked it!
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71). CSS 72 72 NC NC
Lift-and-clean permitted in rounds three and four.
273 S Borrowman (Dollar) 71 68 68 66, W Booth (Comrie) 71 67 66 69, K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 67 69 70 67, K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 67 69 70 67 (McNicoll won sudden-death play-off at second hole)..
274 S Henry (Cardross) 70 65 69 70, P O’Hara (Colville Park) 69 65 68 72.
275 J Gallagher (Swanston New) 69 69 66 71.
276 R Dixon (Kilmarnock Barassie) 69 70 66 71, R Kellett (Colville Park) 69 68 69 70.
277 B Soutar (Leven GS) 73 70 67 67, G Yates (Hilton Park) 72 68 68 69.
278 G Dear (Murrayshall) 74 68 68 68.
279 B McDermott (Leven GS) 74 70 68 67, L Kirton (Newmachar) 71 69 69 70.
281 R Bell (Downfield) 74 68 70 69, J Byrne (Banchory) 74 66 72 69, M Lamb (Haddington) 79 69 70 72.
282 A Main (Thornton) 70 70 71 71, C Macaulay (Tulliallan) 69 72 69 72, K Nicol (Fraserburgh) 68 71 71 72, S McAllister (Craigielaw) 66 73 67 76.
283 D Gould (Ladybank) 75 70 68 70, G Paterson (St Andrews New) 69 71 73 70.
284 P Betty (Hayston) 72 68 72 72.
285 G Campbell (Blairgowrie) 74 72 69 70, S Smith (Arbroath Artisans) 70 73 70 72, J White (Lundin) 72 70 74 69.
286 J Mackay (Kilmarnock Barassie) 74 72 70 70, D Somerville (St Andrews) 71 73 73 69, C Martin (Balbirnie Park) 73 68 72 73..
287 P McLean (Peterhead) 75 69 73 70.
288 J Findlay (Fraserburgh) 74 70 69 75.
289 S Spiers (Aus) 70 71 77 71.
290 K Shanks (US) 74 71 73 72.
291 S Stewart-Cation (Balbirnie Park) 71 72 75 73, J Mathers (Haggs Castle) 73 69 72 77.
292 M Hillson (Craigielaw) 72 74 73 73, C Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) 71 71 71 79..
293 B Erskine (Leven Th) 75 71 73 74, S Robertson (San dyhlls) 75 69 71 78.
294 J Fox (Portmarnock) 73 73 75 73, J Welsh (Australia) 74 72 75 73..
300 C Sanders (Leven Th) 71 75 77 77.

MISSED THE CUT
147 Z Saltman (Craigielaw) 71 76.
148 D Simpson ( Crieff) 80 68, P Latimer (St Andrews New) 75 73, G Nicholson (Mortonhall) 73 75, T Hayes (West Byfleet) 72 76, S Mann (Carnoustie) 71 77.
149 S Rennie (Drumpellier) 77 72, M Main (Thornton) 75 74.
150 A Culverwell) 78 72 (Dunbar), D Downie (Ladybank) 78 72, C Van der Merwe (SAf) 77 73, P Ferrier (Baberton) 77 73, L McGowan (St Andrews New) 74 76.
151 J Musgrove (Stocksfield) 77 74.
152 G Robertson (Silverknowes) 74 78.
153 E Polson (Inverness) 80 73, A Wallace (Glenbervie) 75 78.
154 R Carson (Dalmahoy) 78 76.
155 S McEwan (Caprington) 83 72.
156 J Shanks (Irvine) 78 78.
157 G Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 79 78.
No Returns: M Cunningham (Longniddry) 71 -, D Yeats (Nigg Bay) 73 -.