Jamie McIntosh winning his Braids battle in 125th Dispatch Trophy

Jamie McIntosh overcame a personal Braids battle to book a last-eight spot on his Dispatch Trophy debut with Kilgour Wealth Management in the event’s 125th edition at the Braids.

McIntosh is teaming up with Broomieknowe clubmate Sean Marc and James Keggie and Owen Melrose, who are both Archerfield Links members as well as playing at Silverknowes and Turnhouse respectively.

The quartet came through the second round of the Edinburgh Leisure-run event at the expense of Newbattle team Donuts@the9th, winning 2&1 over the double foursome.

In a brilliant match, the better-ball between Marc and McIntosh and their opponents, Alisdair Dougal and John Nisbet, was 11 under.

Kilgour Wealth Management’s Sean Marc tees off in the second round of the 125th Dispatch Trophy watched by playing partner Jamie McIntosh at the Braids | National World

“They were good,” said Marc, a former Lothians champion, of the golf played by Dougal and Nisbet as they finished one up but Keggie and Melrose won three up at the back against Fraser Jervis and Syed Ali.

McIntosh, a former Stuart Cup winner for leading the Lothians Championship qualifying, is playing at the Braids for the first time while Marc has encountered it in just one previous edition of the tournament.

“I’ve got a degenerative disc disorder and could actually use a buggy as I am on medication for it but try not to,” said McIntosh, whose sister Kate recently retained the Midlothian Women’s Championship. “It’s not exactly the flattest of courses and I was hobbling around a bit on Saturday.”

Marc’s golf is a bit more limited these days due to the fact he’s got two-year-old twin boys, but he said with a smile: “My wife is very understanding.”

Kilgour Wealth Management’s opponents in Thursday’s quarter-finals will be Hailes, who moved a step closer to repeating a 2015 win with a 7&6 win over Edinburgh Western.

“We were level par despite a couple of wobbly shots,” reported Danny Crolla, who is playing alongside Paul Page in the back Hailes pairing.

But Nathan McCulloch, who is teaming up with his dad Steve at the front, admitted: “We did not play well at all, but it was one of those nights when all the bounces went in our favour.”

Heriot’s were represented in the second round by Sam Hall, Scott Dickson, Stuart Langlands and Fraser Smith | National World

In a repeat of the 2023 semi-finals, Heriot’s came out on top once more against Heriot’s Quad but only after a “typical Braids match”.

Euan Gordon and Scott Johnston finished two up at the front against Scott Langlands and Scott Dickson but Lothians champion Sam Hall and Fraser Smith ended three up on Roddy Stevenson and debutant Max Nicholson Brooks at the rear.

“It came down to a toss of the coin on the final hole,” said Dickson of it being halved in the back match.

Next up for the 2023 losing finalists is a mouth-watering match against the youngsters representing Stephen Gallacher Foundation.

In a 7&6 win over Turnhouse team BBT, Alexander Yuill, who was playing alongside Dylan Cairns, came close to a hole in one at the ninth before sinking a birdie putt at the 15th to clinch victory.

At the front, Jake Johnston and Andrew Hendry were four up through six and “played pretty solid from start to finish”.

The other teams still standing in an event being sponsored by Golf Finance and Braid Hills Golf Centre are six-time winners Silverknowes, Murrayfield, Edinburgh Academicals and hat-trick chasers Duddingston.

In a match that finished just before darkness descended, Duddingston dug deep to beat a Kilgour Property team that included three Duddingston members.

Second-round results

Donuts@The9th (Alistair Dougal and John Nisbet 1; Fraser Jervis and Syed Ali 0); Kilgour Wealth Management (Sean Marc and Jamie McIntosh 0; James Keggie and Owen Melrose 3).

Kilgour Wealth Management won 2&1

Hailes (Nathan McCulloch and Steve McCulloch 5; Paul Page and Danny Crolla 2); Edinburgh Western (David Wilson and Kevin McDonald 0; Andrew Rennie and Keith MacFarlane 0).

Hailes won 7&6

Heriot’s Quad (Euan Gordon and Scott Johnston 2; Roddy Stevenson and Max Nicholson-Brooks 0); Heriot’s (Stuart Langlands and Scott Dickson 0; Sam Hall and Fraser Smith 3).

Heriot’s won by one hole

BBT (Mark Scoular and Andy Allan 0; Blair Henry and Jack McVey 0); Stephen Gallacher Foundation (Andrew Hendry and Jake Johnston 5; Alexander Yuill and Dylan Cairns 2).

Stephen Gallacher Foundation won 7&6

Silverknowes B (Anthony Howden and Tam Caldwell 0; Keith Tulloch and Steve Garioch 0); Edinburgh Academical (Nic Peoples and Angus Rintoul 2; Hugo Rintoul and Fraser Simpson 2).

Edinburgh Academicals won 4&3

Harrison (Iain Ashley and Donny Munro 0; Stuart More and Kai Laing 2); Silverknowes (Keith Reilly and Graham Robertson 7; Chris Milligan and Connor McWatt 0).

Silverknowes won 5&4

Braids United (Sandy Miles and Gordon Brown 0; Glen Masters and Andrew Chalmers 0); Murrayfield (Archie Wyatt and Harry Haththorne 7; Cameron White and Stuart Thurlow 3).

Murrayfield won 10&9

Duddingston (Jamie Duguid and Allyn Dick 0; David Miller and Craig Pirie 2); Kilgour Property (Gus Santana and David Downing 0; John Shepherd and Adam Heslop 0).

Duddingston won 2&1