Jamie Morris retains Lothian Championship at Luffness New

Glencorse member Jamie Morris shows off his impressive silverware after victory at Luffness New

Just four players had previously managed to successfully defend the magnificent Evening News Trophy, but make that five now.

And Morris was certainly a worthy winner at the East Lothian venue after the Glencorse member beat leading qualifier Nurtai Saldarov (Craigielaw) in the 18-hole final.

After halving the first three holes Morris rolled in a long putt from off the green at the fourth for an eagle-3.

That sparkled a run of four straight 3s as he took a commanding four-hole lead over the Stuart Cup winner.

However, Saldarov had shown he was made of stern stuff in making it to the final and he was back in it after birdies at the eighth and 12th.

The gap was down to just one with four holes to play but a steady finish from Morris saw him over the line.

His victory saw history repeat itself as W C D Hare made the first successful title defence at the same venue in 1953.

Since then, Keith Nicholson (Haddington) in 1998, Calum Macphail (Ratho Park) in 1992 and Stuart Smith (Duddingston) in 1994 had been the only others to achieve the feat before Morris. His next target will be to try and match Smith’s hat-trick of successes.

In the semi-finals, Morris beat 2016 winner Sean Marc (Broomieknowe) 2&1, while Saldarov defeated Michael Rolland (Bruntsfield Links) by the same margin.