Club Championship Finals: Morris and Cuthbertson Continue Dominance

Jamie Morris’s relentless pursuit of a record haul of Club Championship wins continued in style on Saturday as he cruised to his 22nd title with an emphatic win over Steven Waldie on Saturday afternoon.

An 11&10 winning margin looked harsh on the gallant runner-up, but it gave Jamie his eleventh Championship final victory bringing TT Sanderson’s club record of 15 titles ever closer. He was imperious form throughout the week, dropping only three shots and such was the quality of his golf, he was only required to play 67 holes out of a possible 90.

Along the way to the final, he overcame the challenges of Scott MacFarlane, Cameron Young and Colin Fraser, destroying all in his path, before facing the 2016 club champion Waldie in the final, who had taken the scalps of Ryan Forsyth, Allan Turnbull and a resurgent Walter Forsyth in the semi-finals.

A fine opening tee-shot set up an opening par to give Steven an early lead and he almost went two up after lipping out for birdie at the second hole. That would be the last time he held the lead as Jamie applied the pressure, winning the 3rd to draw level before birdies at the 4th, 5th and 9th put him three up at the turn. The foot went down on the back nine and although there was a glimmer for Waldie with an impressive birdie putt at the 14th, Jamie bounced back immediately with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 to reach five up. He gained another hole at the 17th to go into half-time with a six-hole lead, and the win was never looking in doubt from thereon in.

With the weather closing in for the later round, Jamie wasted no time in closing the deal, adding two more birdies to see out the match on the 26th hole. Win number 11 matches the number of Peebles Open wins he has in the bag, and having made it a hattrick of Peebles Championship wins, few would bet against this local legend making it three Lothians Championship victories on the bounce when he defends his Area title later this month. Congratulations Jamie, superb golf!

In the B Championship, Mark Cowan was in unstoppable form all week and took his first title with an excellent win in the final against Iain Mitchell. He beat Andrew Beveridge, John Elliot and Robin Connor in the earlier rounds, while Mitchell saw off number one seed Noel Flannery, David Brotherstone and Alan Jackson.

The C Championship went with form as number one and two seeds Brian Morris and Keith McDonald reached the final. Morris was looking to share the glory with son Jamie after a fine run to the final, but it was his close friend Keith who took his second C Championship title in the space of three years with the win.

Ladies Championship: Cuthbertson Counts on Title Twenty-Two

Sheila Cuthbertson and Denise Richards contested the final of this season’s Ladies’ Championship, having defeated the respective challenges of Marny Waddell and June-Anne Clark in the semi-finals. Despite being 2 down after 4 holes, Denise fought back to be all square after 10, due in part to rare putting lapses on Sheila’s part at the 5th, 8th and 10th holes. Sheila steadied her game, being level par over the next 5 holes, with a birdie at the 11th and a bogey at the 14th.

Denise could not match Sheila’s fine tee shot to the centre of the 16th green. Unable to get down in two after overshooting the par-3 hole, Denise conceded the hole, and the match. This is Sheila’s 22nd Championship win and there is no sign of her giving up her perennial crown any time soon.

There is a new name on the Laverock Cup which is awarded to the Bronze Division Champion, this year contested between Julie Oram, runner-up on two previous occasions, and Iris French, a one-time runner-up. Sheila Horsburgh and Lilian Smith respectively were eliminated in the semi-finals. The standard of golf, over the front 9 in particular, was worthy of promotion to the Silver Division, both ladies reaching the turn in 45. Nerves were apparent over the back 9, with Julie missing some crucial puts. Iris was a worthy winner, having never been down in the match. One down at the 16th, Julie put her tee shot out of bounds to give Iris a 2-hole lead. Both ladies played excellent pitches to the 17th green and Iris’s steady putting ended Julie’s challenge, winning 3&2.

Sutherland Celebrates Junior Championship Win

There’s a new name on the junior honours board as Kerr Sutherland won the Junior Championship after an excellent final against Michael Smith, with a winning margin of 3&1. Both players were in fine form during the match and the standard of golf was high throughout as it had been all week. Kerr showed his intent early in the week by beating defending champion Jack Kinghorn in the quarter-finals before earning his final berth with a win against Ross Aiken, while Michael took the notable scalp of Frankie Masson then defeated Robbie Mackay in the semi-finals.

 Thanks to all the volunteers who supported the week through starting, refereeing and admin duties, and to those members who turned in good numbers to watch the finals on Saturday. More photos and video highlights can be found on our Facebook page.