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By Steve Scott, golf correspondent
For Keir McNicoll it was a crushing anti-climax to what he’d hoped would be a triumphant week, but for Edzell’s William Bremner the victory over the home-town favourite in the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship was the biggest win of his fledgling career so far.
The 19-year-old beaten finalist in last year’s Scottish Boys’ Championship rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th to abruptly end a promising comeback by third seed McNicoll and break the hearts of the locals hoping their 23-year-old favourite would go one better than his runners-up position last year.
Instead, his run ended at the second round and Bremner, who is potentially McNicoll’s foursomes partner when he makes his Angus County debut in this weekend’s Scottish Area Team Championships, moved on in what was a gruelling day at the Carnoustie links.
In order to make up time from Tuesday’s fog delays, play started at 6.45am with the 26 first-round matches left on the course finishing, and more than a dozen of those players ended up playing three different rounds during the day, the last teeing off after 8pm, until darkness brought an end to proceedings.
SGU Tournament Director Euan Mordaunt is determined that the final should remain a 36-hole contest played on Saturday —there is a small window on Sunday for further play—if at all possible even if the third round was scheduled to have been completed last night.
The Carnoustie favourite got off to an ideal start when he holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the first to establish an immediate lead.
However, McNicoll passed up a number of chances to stretch his narrow advantage against Bremner, who seized control after the turn with birdies at the 12th and 14th and a win at the 13th in par to go three up with three to play.
McNicoll won the 16th and seemed to have the momentum when he hit his second shot in to five feet at the 17th, but Bremner drained his putt for birdie to kill the contest 2 and 1.
“It’s definitely my biggest win so far and I guessed there was a bit of suppport out there for Keir, so I’m pretty happy with the way I played and how I held it together,” said the Edzell golfer.
Bremner had a little form coming into Carnoustie with a win in his club championship, beating Scottish Mid-Amateur champion Ross Coull in the final, and having been picked for the six-man Angus team for the first time on the back of a sucessful first year at John A Logan College near Chicago.
“I got All-American Junior College honours and everything’s going well so far,” he said. “I do another year and then transfer to a university for the final two years—I haven’t decided where yet, just so long as it’s warmer.”
McNicoll was disappointed but believed he was getting on top belatedly when Bremner holed the winning putt.
“I would have fancied my chances of taking it up extra holes,” he said.
“But all credit to William, he played really well.”
The other seed to fall was fifth-ranked Paul O’Hara, who lost out to the unheralded Michael Watson, celebrating his 21st birthday in some style.
The 2006 champion Glenn Campbell didn’t have the most comfortable of rides either, eventually only beating Kevin Duncan from Ellon on the final hole.
Duncan had been three up after 11, but with the match all-square up the last the North-Easterner did a “Harrington”—in the Barry Burn off the tee and then again with his third shot—to hand the Blairgowrie man the tie.
“I didn’t play well but sometimes you have these days in matchplay,” he said.
“It was the same in the first round when I played par golf over the last four holes and that was enough to win most of them—and that’s what you have to do at Carnoustie.”
Ian Hutcheon’s bid 35 years on from his 1973 victory at Carnoustie ended at the hands of Newmachar’s former boy cap Lewis Kirton in the second round, while second seed Wallace Booth was perhaps the most fortunate man in the field.
The powerful Comrie man was one up on the second when the fog closed in on Tuesday, but opponent Euan McIntosh was a no-show yesterday morning giving him a walkover into the second round, and then he was barely delayed by US-based Keith Shanks in the second round in a 5 and 4 win.
However there was some penance coming for the big brother of Curtis Cup player Carly as he was forced to tee-off his third round match, which will be carried through to this morning, just before 8pm.
Round one
C Stephen (Meldrum House) bt A Cappi (Loretto) at the 19th, G Belch (Haggs Castle) bt G Duncan (Carnoustie Caledonia) 3 and 2, G Campbell (Blairgowrie) bt J Gardner (Montrose Mercantile) 2 and 1, K Duncan (McDonald) bt D Sommerville (St Andrews) 2 and 1, N McWilliam (Garmouth and Kingston) bt S Neilson (Dunbar) 1 hole, D Webster (Forfar) bt P Latimer (St Andrews New) 1 hole, C Fraser (Peebles) bt J White (Lundin) 1 hole, S Graham (Blairgowrie) bt N Gold (Bonnyton) 2 and 1, S Speirs (Aus) bt R Reyner (Carnoustie Caledonia) 3 and 2, M Rose (Pitlochry) bt D Donaldson (Bruntsfield Links) 3 and 1, M Dargie (Cawder) bt G Richards (Kingsknowe) 2 and 1, R Kellett (Colville Park) bt C Gray (West Kilbride) 3 and 1, G Yates (Hilton Park) bt S Machin (Cowglen) 8 and 6, M Smyth (Royal Troon) bt R McGuire (Dalmahoy) 3 and 2, M Brown (Monifieth) bt K Donaldson (Galashiels) 1 hole, J Ross (Royal Burgess) bt G Thomson (Moray) 6 and 4, B Innes (Murcar Links) bt M Hillson (Craigielaw) at the 19th, D Simpson (Crieff) bt K Turnbull (Larkhall) 3 and 2, M Halliday (Royal Aberdeen) bt L Clark (Kinghorn) 7 and 6, J Forbes (Inverness) bt B McDermott (Leven) 5 and 4, G Carnie (NewburghonYthan) bt D Young (Craigie Hill) 4 and 3, C Conroy (Paisley) bt M Timmins (Pumpherston) at the 20th, L McGowan (St Andrews New) bt T Mathieson (Kings Acre) 2 holes, R Thornton (US) bt F Fotheringham (Nairn) 2 and 1, C Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) bt M Davidson (Craigie Hill) 2 and 1, A Howard (Murrayshall) bt N Robson (Meldrum House) 3 and 2, K Shanks (US) bt N Steven (St Andrews) 3 and 2, W Booth (Comrie) w/o E McIntosh (Newmachar), J Findlay (Fraserburgh) bt E Shannly (Linlithgow) 7 and 6, E Wilson (Forfar) bt S MacDonald (Nairn) 7 and 6, S McKendrick (Dunkeld and Birnam) bt A Styles (Caledonian) 3 and 2, N McBride (Cowglen) bt R Dixon (Kilmarnock Barassie) 5 and 3.
Round Two
G Crawford (Williamwood) bt R Coull (Edzell) 1 hole, G Taylor (Meldrum House) bt C Kneen (Castletown) 4 and 2, C Macaulay (Tulliallan) bt A Bews (Murcar Links) at the 21st, S Carruthers (Pitlochry) bt A McLachlan (Bonnyton) 2 holes, S Knowles (Kingsknowe) bt W Bryson (Drumpellier) 4 and 3, M Cunningham (Longniddry) bt M Stein (Craigielaw) at the 19th, M Clark (Kilmacolm) bt N Howitt (Nairn) 5 and 3, D Brown (Carluke) bt K Harper (Carnoustie) at the 20th, P Betty (Hayston) bt I Thomson (Powfoot) 4 and 3, G Stevenson (Whitecraigs) bt C Robb (Inchmarlo) 5 and 4, G Stewart (Murcar Links) bt A Lauder (Paisley) 2 holes, D Paton (Dunnikier Park) bt R Scott (Strathaven) at the 20th, K Nicol (Fraserburgh) bt R Bell (Downfield) 1 hole, L Kirton (Newmachar) bt I Hutcheon (Monifieth) 4 and 3, S Lockhart (Bathgate) bt P Drake (Pumpherston) 1 hole, S Henry (Cardross) bt R Crowe (Newcastle United) 3 and 2, G Dear (Murrayshall) bt G Robertson (Irvine Ravenspark) 2 and 1, C Donaldson (Downfield) bt A Main (Thornton) 3 and 2, S Robertson (Sandyhills) bt G Burnett (Swanston New) 1 hole, D Yeats (Nigg Bay) bt K Weir (St Andrews New) 2 and 1, S Stewart-Cation (Balbirnie Park) bt J King (Glasgow) 2 and 1.
K McAlpine (Alyth) bt D Harrison (Crieff) 2 and 1, D Hunter (Dalmahoy) bt B Scott (Lochmaben) 3 and 2, C Mundie (Falkirk) bt N McKinnon (Murcar Links) 1 hole, F McKenna (Balmore) bt G Robertson (Silverknowes) 4 and 3, J Gallagher (Swanston New) bt D Elder (Carnoustie) 1 hole, R Carson (Marriott Dalmahoy) bt B Erskine (Leven) 3 and 2, G Paterson (St Andrews New) bt D Anderson (Cochrane Castle) 2 and 1, D Morrison (Duff House Royal) bt S Smith (Arbroath Artisans) 3 and 2, M Watson (Elgin) bt P O’Hara (Colville Park) 3 and 2, S Mann (Carnoustie) bt J Hendrick (Pollok) 2 and 1, N Moore (St Andrews New) bt J Gilmour (Harburn) 2 and 1, M Stewart (Troon Welbeck) bt J Godward (McDonald) 3 and 2, A Wallace (Glenbervie) bt C Riddick (Dumfries and Galloway) 3 and 2, B Edmond (Bon Accord) bt C Shaw (Royal Aberdeen) 6 and 5, G Tough (Letham Grange) bt S Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 4 and 2, D Weir (Lundin) bt J Farmer (St Andrews) 2 and 1, P McLean (Peterhead) bt J Cairney (Irvine Ravenspark) 4 and 3, D Ballantyne (Selkirk) bt E McKinnon (Corrie) 2 holes, S McEwan (Caprington) bt M Bookless (Sandyhills) 6 and 5, J MacKay (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt J Shanks (US) 1 hole, S Borrowman (Dollar) bt M Hislop (Glenbervie) 5 and 4, M Main (Thornton) bt F McCarron (Stonehaven) at the 19th, S Buchan (Royal Aberdeen) bt D Miller (Duddingston) 4 and 3M Buchan (Cruden Bay) bt A Moir (Thornton) at the 24th, M Lamb (Haddington) bt S Roberts (Gullane) 3 and 2, W Bremner (Edzell) bt K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 2 and 1, G Bell (Downfield) bt M Grunwell (Powfoot) 1 hole.
Belch bt Stephen 6 and 5, Campbell bt Duncan 1 hole, Webster bt McWilliam at the 20th, Graham bt Fraser 4 and 3, Speirs bt Rose 4 and 3, Kellett bt Dargie 2 and 1, Yates bt Smyth 3 and 2, Brown bt Ross 2 holes, Innes bt Simpson at the 19th, Forbes bt Halliday 6 and 5, Conroy bt Carnie 3 and 2, Thornton bt McGowan 1 hole, Harkins bt Howard 4 and 3, Booth bt Shanks 5 and 4, Findlay bt Wilson 1 hole, McKendrick bt McBride 5 and 3.
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