Co-sponsor Nick Robson wins leading amateur award by seven strokes

                Tim Spence with the Aberdeen Senior Masters championship trophy. 

                        Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency

TIM SPENCE'S LATE BIRDIES WIN

 HIM ABERDEEN SENIOR MASTERS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Former Challenge Tour and European Tour player Tim Spence, the 49-year-old overnight leader from West Sussex, won the £10,000 first prize in the 2nd Aberdeen Senior Masters after a highly-charged last few holes in brilliant sunshine at Meldrum House Hotel golf course, Oldmeldrum.
Third in the inaugural event last year, Spence, who will go to the European Senior Tour Qualifying School (50 is its minimum age) on the Algarve during the winter,  confessed in his prizewinning speech that he "loves the course" and would take it home if he could with him to the south of England where he is coach to the Sussex County Union  and also works at the "Golf College" in those parts.

Spence certainly underlined the fact that the Aberdeenshire parkland course suits him down to the ground as he recorded scores of 65, 66 and 70 for a nine-under-par total of 201.
He won by one stroke from two Welshmen, former British amateur champion Stephen Dodd who posted the clubhouse target of 202 with rounds of 70, 67 and 65, and one of Tim's playing partners, former Ryder Cup man Phillip Price (he beat Phil Mickelson in the 2002 match) who scored 68, 66 and 68, also for 202.

But Spence gave a hint on Wednesday night that all was not well with his game when he headed for the practice range, despite being the clear leader

And he was right to worry about things to come in the final round!
Spence, who had only one bogey in his first two rounds and led by three shots at the start of the day,  opened the door to his rivals by double-bogeying the fourth and also dropping shots at the eighth and 15th.
A play-off looked more and more a possibility when Price made up two shots on the faltering leader with an outward half of 34 to Spence's 36.
Then came a two-shot swing in Price's favour at the 15th which Spence bogeyed and Price birdied to take the lead for the first time.
"I knew I had to pull something out of the bag quickly and I hit two cracking drives to set up birdies at the par-5 16th and par-4 17th which put me back in the lead by one," said Spence.
"The three-wood second I hit at the par-5 16th carried 235yd to the fringe of the green and I pitched and putted for a birdie 4. It was the best shot I hit all week.

"I'm thrilled to have won but it was a bit too close for comfort!"
Said Price, who birdied the third, fourth, 11th and 15th, with bogeys at the 13th in halves of 34 for his closing 68: "I managed to put a bit of pressure on Tim but he responded like a champion. He played great in the end."

For the record, Spence had a double bogey at the fourth and also dropped shots at the eighth and 15th but he did have four birdies - at the fifth, ninth, 16th and 17th in halves of 36-34.

"We lost a round last year because it was rained off but I have now played five competitive rounds over this course and a par 70 is the worst I've had. No wonder I like very much."
Robert Arnott recaptured the form that won him the Senior PGA title early in the season with a closing round of 66 for 209. That gave him the honour of being the highest finishing Scot in the field of 104.
Stephen McAllister, who was in the mix with a round to go, slumped to a last-round 75 for 211.
Aberdeen businessman and Meldrum House GC member Nick Robson, who also sponsored the tournament alongwith Meldrum House Hotel chairman Bob Edwards  and Gary Ross of Gym Rental, won the £500 amateur voucher as the leading amateur by seven strokes  with a total of two-over-par 212 (68-74-70). 

Woburn amateur Stephen Jensen was runner-up and Barry Brooks (Meldrum House) was third.

+Frenchman Jean Pierre Sallat earned £1,000 for having the lowest total after deducting his age (61) from his 54-hole total to come up with a bottom line of 145 - four shots ahead of Paraguay's Angel Franco who is 59. Runner-up prize was £500.

An interesting novelty event but perhaps it would be better to have over-55 and over-60 years prizes.

FINAL TOTALS

Par 210 (3x70)

PROFESSIONALS
201 T Spence (Eng) 65 66 70 (£10,000) 
202 S Dodd (Wal) 70 67 65 (£5,000), P Price (Wal) 68 66  68 (£3,500)
204 P Linhart (Spa) 68 68 68 (£3,000), B Conser (USA) 67 68 69 (£2,500)
205 D Shacklady (Eng) 66 71 68 (£2,000)

206 J Harrison (Eng) 69 71 66 (£1,600), J P Sallat (Fra) 69 68 69 (£1,400), P Broadhurst (Eng) 68 68 70 (£1,300), P Wesselingh (Eng) 64 71 71 (£1,200).
The leading 40 professionals earned prizemoney down to £260 for 40th place. 

207 P Affleck (Eng) 72 69 66, S Brown (Eng) 67 72 68, J Sandelin (Swe) 66 70 71
208 A Franco (Arg) 72 67 69, C Hunsucker (USA) 69 70 69

209 J Romero (Spa) 69 75 65, R Arnott (Sco) 72 71 66, J Hoskinson (Eng) 68 70 71
210 P Baker (Eng) 67 73 70, S Ball (Eng) 69 70 71, P Streeter (Eng) 66 70 74
211 A Oldcorn (Sco) 70 72 69, A Mackenzie (Sco) 69 73 69, K Hutton (Sco) 70 70 71, S McNally (Eng) 68 72 71, F Mann (Sco) 71 68 72, T Helen (USA) 68 69 74, S McAllister (Sco) 66 70 75
212 M Mielke (Fra) 74 70 68 
213 C Monasterio (Arg) 69 72 72, C Dennis (USA) 69 71 73
214 J M Buendia (Spa) 72 70 72

215 J Berendt (Arg) 75 70 70, J Cheetham (Eng) 68 77 70, P Woodward (Eng) 69 72 74

216 G Joyner (Aust) 74 73 69, G Wall (Aust) 72 73 71,  J Laforce (Fra) 70 75 71, N Sweet (Eng) 72 71 73, P Parker (Eng) 68 73 75
217 S Van Vuuren (SAf) 70 76 71, D Pearce (Eng) 71 72 74

218 K Tenmark (Swe) 74 74 70, M Briggs (Eng) 72 75 71, M Forster (Eng) 69 77 72, J Murphy (Eng) 68 76 74

219 K Kami (Nepal) 70 82 67, M Dagenais (Can) 73 75 71, C Suneson (Spa) 72 76 71, G Banister (Aust) 74 71 74, T Lawrence (Eng) 73 72 74.
220 C Monk (Eng) 72 74 74, N Mitchell (Eng) 72 72 76 
221 A Firman (Eng) 72 75 74

222 J Nouges (Arg) 73 79 70, M Spooner (Eng) 73 76 73.
223 S Davidson (Eng) 74 75 74, C Blackmore (Wal) 74 74 75
224 D Narveson (Can) 74 77 73 
225 M Richardson (Eng) 74 74 77
226 G Shoesmith (Eng) 77 74 75, S Shaw (USA) 73 78 75,M Reynard (Eng) 73 76 77
227 R Lane (Eng) 79 76 72, N Marr (Sco) 76 78 73
228 M Dale (Eng) 75 73 80
229 R Briars (Eng) 78 75 76
230 S Puzey (USA) 79 73 78, D Thomson (Sco) 76 75 79 
231 M Field (Eng) 73 78 80 

233 A Rogers (Eng) 80 80 73, M Macara (Wal) 80 79 74, K El Baradie (Swi) 76 76 81

236 S S Panton (Swi) 80 82 74, D MacDougall (Sco) 78 81 77, B Rollinson (USA)76 83 77.
238 X Naudet (Fra) 76 82 80
239 W McQueeney (Sco) 75 84 80 
240 P Puisset (Fra) 78 85 77, D Young (Eng) 82 80 78
243 G Bikinidou (Fra) 82 74 87

248 T Bouba (Cameroons) 83 85 80, C Linstead (Eng) 80 82 86

258 J Gamarra (Arg) 94 83 81, N Betts (Eng) 84 88 86

272 J Capre (Fra) 88 91 93

LEADING PROFESSIONALS NET TOTALS

(Age deducted from final total)
145  J P Sallat (Fra) (age 61) (£1,000)

149 A Franco (Paraguay) (age 59) (£500)
150 J Harrison (Eng) (age 56) (£250), B Conser (USA) (age 54) (£250)
151 J Hoskinson (Eng) (age 58), P Linhart (Spa) (age 53)
152 P Wesselingh (Eng) (age 54), T Spence (Eng) (age 49)
153 S Ball (Eng) (age 57), S Dodd (Wal) (age 49), P Price (Wal) (age 49)
154 S Brown (Eng) (age 53)
155 A Oldcorn (Sco) (age 56), F Mann (Sco) (age 56)
156 A Mackenzie (Sco) (age 55), T Thelen (USA) (age 55), D Shacklady (Eng) (age 49), P Broadhurst (Eng) (age 50)

157 R Arnott (Sco) (age 52), P Affleck (Eng) (age 50), C Hunsucker (USA) (age 51), S McAllister (Sco) (age 54)
158 J Sandelin (Swe) (age 49)
159 J Laforce (Fra) (age 57), M Mielke (Fra) (age 53), K Hutton (Sco) (age 52), J M Buendia (Spa) (age 55)

AMATEURS
SCRATCH
Par 210 
212 N Robson (Sco) 68 74 70 (£500 voucher)

219 S Jensen (Eng) 77 74 68 (£200 voucher)
223 B Brooks (Sco) 74 74 75(£100 voucher)
226 N Gold (Sco) 75 76 75

236 G Cooper (Sco) 73 83 76

238 G Ross (Sco) 79 82 77
239 D Forsyth (Sco) 80 81 78 

249 D Bell (Sco) 84 91 74
254 I Skidmore (Eng) 86 87 81

259 C Munoz (Spa) 88 89 82

  Champion Tim Spence flanked by the tournament sponsors (left to right): Nick Robson (Thistle Windows and Conservatories), Bob Edwards, chairman of Meldrum House Hotel, and Gary Ross, owner of Gym Rental.