Lothians miss out on Area Team title at final hole

Lothians fell at the final hurdle in a brave bid to land a 14th overall victory but first in the current format for the Scottish Area Team Championship.

Euan McIntosh was part of the Lothians team

They lost 5-4 to Lanarkshire in the title decider at Dalmahoy after topping the stroke-play qualifying by six shots then beating North and Glasgow.

“The boys played brilliant from start to finish,” said Lothians captain Keith Reilly. “To lose out after getting so close is disappointing but I was delighted how everyone performed over the three days.” Bidding to claim the title for the first time since 2008, Lothians lost the morning foursomes 2-1 before seeing Lanarkshire then claim the top two singles through Craig Ross and Ed Wood.

Wins for Eric McIntosh, Lee Morgan and Euan McIntosh drew Lothians level, meaning it all came down to Jordyn Rhind’s match against Steven Rennie.

Two down with two to play, Rhind won the 17th with a par but then pulled his approach at the last, where a half in 5s was good to see Rennie secure Lanarkshire’s first win since 1998 and second overall. “A year after we had a 38-over total in the stroke-play qualifying, we finished first this time with 13-under before losing to the final putt in the final,” added Reilly. “This is definitely something to build on for next year.