STEPHEN MARSHALL did it the hard way as he bridged an eight-year gap to win the Baberton Club Championship for a second time.
He qualified down the field and was faced with the toughest route possible to the final but he was up to the task.
After beating fellow team players Grant McCall and Dougie Waugh in the earlier rounds, Marshall faced eight-times champion Andy Laur
ence in the semi-finals.
Laurence had beaten Marshall three times in finals in the past and it didn't look good yet again for the latter when he lost two of the first three holes.
But he battled back brilliantly to win 6 and 4, covering the 14 holes played in three-under-par in blustery conditions.
Marshall continued his rich vein of form in the final, taking an early lead with what one of the club's stalwarts described as "an awesome display of ball-striking". He covered the first 18 holes in 66 and stormed to a 7 and 6 victory over defending champion Mark Riddell. "This was my eighth final and I produced my best display of golf," said the new champion.
At Lothianburn, George Wither claimed the title for the first time since his switch from neighbouring Swanston a few years ago,
Three up after the morning round against Tim Poyser, Wither was still two ahead with three to play but lost both the 16th and 17th.
With the honour at the last, Poyser drove into the gorse and, though his ball was found, he eventually conceded the hole and the match after failing to find the green with his third shot.
Meanwhile, former Scottish Boys' champion Stephen Buckley survived a bit of a wobble to win the championship at Royal Burgess.
Buckley was six up at one stage against Jim Thomson but was made to sweat a bit before sealing a 3 and 2 victory in the 36-hole showdown.
In the semi-finals, Buckley beat the experienced John Fraser by one hole while Thomson beat another old campaigner, Ian Taylor, by 2 and 1.
Down in East Lothian, the championship at the Glen in North Berwick was won last year by Jim Jack in his 50th year of membership.
This year, the title was won by 18-year-old Shaun Gordon, who became the club's youngest champion as he beat Tom Rintoul in a closely-fought final.
To add to the celebrations, Gordon's cousin, 14-year-old Keren Ward, won the ladies' championship, beating Diane Huish, the North Berwick champion, in the final. And, making it a real family affair, Gordon's second cousin, 16-year-old Liam Brown, claimed the juniors' crown after beating Sandy Neison in the final.
GIFFORD will fly the flag for Scotland in the final of the National Nines Championship in Jersey later this year. In an event solely for nine-hole courses, the Gifford C trio of John Heaphy, Gordon McColl and Robert Waddell won the Scottish qualifier at Comrie with a team total of 99 Stableford points. They finished one point ahead of a host club trio, with another Gifford trio, comprising Mike Currie, Steve Doyle and Jim Boggon, a further shot behind in third place.
MURRAYFIELD B won this year's Morison Millar Trophy, which was held at Liberton. They posted an aggregate of 284 to pip Liberton A by a shot, with Dalmahoy two strokes further behind in third. The Dormie Salver, for the best scratch score over 36 holes, was won by Craigmillar Park A (K Blackwood and K Baillie) with 163.
ENTRIES are currently being accepted for The Inches Trophy, the Short Hole Open Championship staged by Bruntsfield Short Hole Golf Club.
This year's event at Bruntsfield Links, near Tollcross, gets underway on August 7, with the final being held on August 15. The event is open to all amateur golfers over 14 years and the entry fee is £3. Closing date is August 4 at noon. Contact F Gordon (445 2705) or I Hislop (441 1604).
DUDDINGSTON'S Duncan Ireland, the former Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance secretary, pipped clubmate David Miller to win the Lochend Open. Ireland shot a 68 and took the spoils by virtue of a better inward half ahead of both Miller and Hawick's Alan Chalmers. Shot of the day was a hole-in-one for Colin Davidson, another Duddingston man, at the 15th.
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