Turnhouse triumph in extra-hole West Edinburgh decider

TURNHOUSE handed Royal Burgess a rare disappointment on the big stage in recent years after beating the Barnton club in a thrilling final in the West Edinburgh Winter League at Dalmahoy.

In a contest that ebbed and flowed, Turnhouse eventually came out on top by winning an extra-hole decider after the two teams had finished locked together at 2-2. The last match on the course, the second one in the batting order, proved to be a crucial encounter as Brian Tait won the 18th hole with a birdie for Royal Burgess to force a sudden-death shoot-out.

It involved the experienced Turnhouse duo of Steven Armstrong and Ollie McCrone against Tait, the 2010 Lothians Champion of Champions, and former Scottish Boys’ champion Stephen Buckley.

Earlier, Armstrong and McCrone had been four up at one point before being pegged back by Buckley and Varun Varadharajan, the rising star at Royal Burgess, as they earned a half.

But they made amends by winning the 19th with a birdie to take the trophy back to Turnhouse and end the recent domination of the event by Royal Burgess and Dalmahoy.

“We are delighted to win the trophy again,” said team captain Derek Wilkinson.

“It was achieved thanks to team that played some superb golf over the winter months.”

Match details: Turnhouse 2, Royal Burgess 2 (Turnhouse won extra-hole decider): S Armstrong and O McCrone halved with S Buckley and V Varadharajan; N Anderson and L Lawson halved with I Park and B Tait; M Reid and D Imrie bt G Hill and S Collings 3 and 2; S Robb and T Cadger lost to J Fraser and I Taylor 6 and 4.