GREIG MARCHBANK SWOOPS TO WIN SCOTTISH U18 BOYS' STROKE-PLAY TITLE

 GLORY moment for Greig Marchbank ... Image by ANDY FORMAN for the SGU


Greig Marchbank (Dumfries and County) swept past the faltering third-round leader Anthony Blaney (Liberton) to win the Stephen Gallacher Foundation Scottish Under-18 open amateur stroke-play championship at Cardross Golf Club.
Marchbank's morning third-round 73 meant he had it all to do over the final round - and he did it in champion style with a four-under-par 67 for a seven-under total of 277.
The Doonhamer birdied the third, eighth, long 13th, long 16th and 17th with only one shot dropped - at the 14th - when the chips were down.
He had four shots to spare at the finish from runner-up Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) who signed off with a pair of 70s for 281.
Cameron Farrell (Cardross) and Ewan Scott (St Andrews) tied for third place on 282.
Blaney slipped back from the pole position with a final round of 74 to fill fifth place on 283.
Ryan Walsh (Falkirk), joint halfway leader, dropped steadily down the leaderboard with last-day rounds of 77 and 76 for 290.
+Scroll down past the scores to read the SGU News Release.

 LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71) CSS 73 73 72 72
277 Greig Marchbank (Dumfries and Co) 70 67 73 67
281 Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) 70 72 70 70
282 Cameron Farrell (Cardross) 74 69 71 68, Ewan Scott (St Andrews) 67 73 73 69.
283 Anthony Blaney (Liberton 71 71 67 74
286 Angus Carrick (Douglas Park) 70 75 72 69, Craig Howie (Peebles) 72 75 69 70, Craig Chalmers (Lenzie) 73 69 73 71, Jamie Savage (Cawder) 72 71 71 72
287 Cameron Kirkwood (Bearsden) 74 69 70 74
288 Christopher Maclean (Clydebank and Dist) 71 74 73 70, Richard Broadhurst (Italy) 72 73 70 73, Ryan Shuttleworth (Workington) 69 74 72 73
289 Lawrence Allan (Alva) 72 72 73 72
290 Jacopo Guasconi (Italy) 70 73 71 76, Ryan Walsh (Falkirk) 71 66 77 76
291 Cameron Busit (Dunblane New) 75 73 72 71, Christopher Lamb (Newmachar) 71 77 71 72, Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten) 74 73 72 72
292 Aleksi Myllymaki (Finland) 74 70 74 74, Benjamin Kinsley (St Andrews) 71 73 73 75
293 James Steven (Bothwell Castle) 75 73 75 70, George Duncan (Windyhill) 76 70 77 70, Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 71 74 74 74, George Welsh (South Herts) 71 77 70 75
294 Joel Cartlidge (Wheatley) 74 73 77 70, Greg Forrester (Lundin) 75 74 74 71, Robert Johnson (Helensburgh) 73 73 70 78
295 Adam Fisher (Inchmarlo) 71 76 75 73, Callum McGuigan (Comrie) 74 75 72 74, Jake Scott (Buckpool) 71 70 78 76
296 Marc Nolan (Ireland) 77 67 75 77, Blair Carnegie (Dunblane New) 72 72 75 77
297 Niall McMullen (Lochgelly) 77 72 76 72, Edoardo Lipparelli (Italy) 78 69 76 74.
298 Stuart Easton (Irvine) 75 73 77 73, Jordan Shaw (Kingussie) 75 71 78 74, Alex Wilson (Renaissance) 73 75 74 76, Gavin Blair (Kilmarnock Barassie) 72 73 74 79
299 Colin Edgar (Cochrane Castle) 73 75 78 73
302 Daniel Lane (Kenilworth) 76 72 76 78
304 Fraser Johnston (Longniddry) 76 73 77 78
305 Scott Grant (Downfield) 78 71 78 78
309 Ross Brydon (Bruntsfield) 78 71 84 76.

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION

Greig Marchbank, last year’s SGU Boys Order of Merit winner, made it a notable double by storming to a four-shot victory in the Stephen Gallacher Foundation Scottish Boys Stroke Play Championship at Cardross.

The Dumfries and County player, who celebrated his eighteenth birthday on Saturday, produced an excellent final round of 67 to post a fine seven-under par aggregate of 277 amid glorious conditions on the Dumbartonshire course, to break clear from the chasing pack this afternoon.

Bearsden youngster Ewen Ferguson, winner of the recent Munster Boys Championship in Ireland, finished four shots back in second place after consecutive rounds of 70 on the final day, also clinching the prize for the leading Under-16s player in the field.

Local boy Cameron Farrell, son of Cardross club professional Robert, finished strongly with an impressive three-under par 68 to share third spot with reigning Scottish Youths Champion Ewan Scott, who closed with a 69 to end a good week on 282, two-under par for the championship.

It was Marchbank’s first national championship having come close on several occasions and the joint overnight leader bounced back strongly after a disappointing morning round of 73, closing out victory with birdies at 16 and 17 to clinch his win in style.

Marchbank’s Scotland Boys team-mate Anthony Blaney (Liberton) had looked destined for his maiden national title, storming home in 31 this morning to race into the third round lead on four-under par. Two birdies in his first five holes increased his lead in the final round, but bogeys at 6, 9, 12 and a double-bogey at 10 ended his challenge, eventually finishing in fifth spot, six behind Marchbank.

“It feels great to get the trophy and this is definitely the biggest win of my career so far. My final round was also one of the best rounds I’ve played, particularly after a disappointing 73 this morning, but I knew I could bounce back having played so well in the first two rounds,” said Marchbank, a winner on the Scottish Hydro Junior Tour at Cardrona last year.

“I didn’t get off to a great start this season but I’ve been playing well since the Scottish Youths and feel like the swing changes I’ve made over the winter with my coach Mike Walker are now paying off. The course was in great condition given the weather we had at the start of the week and credit to the Cardross greenkeepers for doing such a great job.”

“This gives me good confidence for the Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch next week and the Boys Amateur Championship coming up soon.” added the new champion, shortly before being presented with the trophy from sponsor Stephen Gallacher’s wife Helen.

It was another impressive performance from 16-year-old runner-up Ewen Ferguson, who outlined his emerging credentials with four birdies in his final nine holes.

Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish Boys Champion Craig Howie (Peebles) finished strongly with rounds of 69 and 70 to share sixth place alongside Angus Carrick (Douglas Park), Craig Chalmers (Lenzie) and Jamie Savage (Cawder) on two-over par.

Thanks go to the Stephen Gallacher Foundation and Cardross Golf Club for their fantastic support of the championship.