Golf: Liberton juniors heading to Spain on international duty

The Capital club won the Scottish qualifier for a second time, beating Pumpherston 5-1 in the final at Panmure.

Both teams now go forward to the overall final, which will be held at Antequera, near  Malaga, in March. For some members of the Liberton side, it will be their last hurrah in the junior ranks and they’re aiming to go out with a bang.

“Four of the team are  moving from junior to senior this year so they are even more  determined to succeed in their swansong in Spain,” said the club’s junior convenor, Robert Ross. The event at Panmure was an all-Lothians affair, with  Gullane and Craigielaw the two other teams involved in the semi-finals.

Both of those were tight  affairs and could easily have gone either way. Liberton,  winners for the first time in 2010, beat Gullane 3½-2½, the same score in the other match as  Pumpherston came out on top against their East Lothian  opponents.

Anthony Blaney, the Liberton No. 1, lost his match but, with Daniel Eardley, Scott Finlay and Kieran Cantley all winning, it was left to Alan MacLaren to seal the victory with a half match.

The final was more one-sided, with Liberton winning 5-1 to end Pumpherston’s brave bid to claim the title for a first time.

Blaney, Eardley, Finlay, Cantley and Thomas Brock were the victors for Liberton as they were crowned champions for the second time in three years.

It completed another clean sweep for the club as they’d already wrapped up the SE Winter League, the Edinburgh Summer League and the  Edinburgh Inter Club this year.

“Everyone at Liberton is very proud of the juniors within the club,” added Ross.