Marc Owenson so close to 59 in East Alliance at Gullane No.3

Marc Owenson came within three inches of joining golf's '˜59 Club' as the East Alliance resumed at Gullane No.3 after the festive break.

The 25-year-old, who is attached to the host, carded an eight-under-par 60 in his first outing of 2018 to finish two shots ahead of Neil Henderson (Renaissance Club).

“Yes,” replied Owenson to being asked if he’d been in with a chance of going even lower. “I managed to get to eight-under after 14 but missed the short downhill par-3 15th green and dropped a shot there. I then hit the lip on 16 from around eight foot and missed a decent chance on 17.

“At the last, I had about 50 yards left but, with Lloyd Saltman cheering me on to try and hole, unfortunately it stopped about three inches to the left of the cup.”

Nonetheless, it was an outstanding effort from the left-hander, who added: “My putter was working very well, which was nice to see since I struggled most of last year on the greens.

“That was the first time the clubs had been out the garage this year so was delighted just to see the ball going forward.”

In an event featuring 96 members – the highest so far this season – Prestonfield’s Willie Laing claimed the overall prize, the John Glen Trophy, with a net 59 off eight.

George Wither (Duddingston) took the senior spoils with a net 64 off two while top trainee was Callum Greenhill (Renaissance Club) on 65.