Sean Marc holds nerve to win Lothians Championship play-off as night falls

Broomieknowe's Sean Marc won a marathon match at Luffness New to keep alive his hopes of landing a second Lothians Championship.

Sean Marc won the title in 2015

The 2015 winner beat double champion Alan Anderson (Bruntsfield Links) at the 22nd in the quarter-finals at Luffness New.

Marc hit his approach to a couple of feet at the 17th to get his nose in front before losing a ball at the last, which Anderson won with par.

The pair then halved the first three extra holes before Marc holed from around 18 feet for a birdie in the pitch dark. “I had my mates running down the fairways as balls spotters from the first extra hole onwards,” said the winner.

Marc now meets defending champion Jamie Morris after the Glencorse man beat Rory Smith (Dalmahoy) 3&1 while the other semi-final is between Craigielaw’s Nurtai Saldarov and Mike Rolland (Bruntsfield Links).

Elsewhere, North Berwick’s Catriona Matthew was bitterly disappointed after failing to make it to the semi-finals in the inaugural European Team Championships at Gleneagles.

Needing just a half in their 
final round-robin match, the second-ranked Great Britain team of Matthew and Holly Clyburn lost by two holes to Swedish third string Cajsa Persson and Linda Wessberg.

“It’s frustrating,” admitted Matthew of both the defeat and the fact she pushed her drive at the last into some trees.