Mortonhall Championship Week

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The MGC 2010 Championship Story.....

Saturday 26th - Finals!

The day was perfect for good golf, warm, little or no wind and the course in fantastic condition.

Morning Rounds... 

In the 36 hole competitions (Gents, Ladies and Juniors only), the morning rounds saw the Gents' Final proving to be the closest contest with a real ding dong between Martin Fitheridge and Brian Ross (pictured top left).  Brian seemed to be gaining some momentum after a glorious eagle at 12 to go 3 up but Martin immediately fought back taking 13 and, with a birdie at 16 and a solid par at 17, took the match to all square. A birdie from Brian at the 18th taking him back to 1 up gave him the psychological advantage over the lunch break. 

Not so for defending Champion Claire Hargan in the Ladies' Final as 18 year old Internationalist Rachael Watton stormed to a 6 hole lead, finishing her first round of 1 under par with a tramline 15 ft birdie putt on the slick 18th green. Rachael and Claire are pictured middle left.

With that marvellous air of confidence allowing completely smooth but power packed swings, the Juniors (David Paul and Andrew Tillie - pictured bottom left) dazzled the crowds with spectacular shots. 300yd drives were the order of the day and the putting wasn't bad either!  Referee Paul Macari thought he was watching The Open, reporting that at the 5th Andrew holed a 40ft putt for birdie and David replied in kind by sinking a 20 footer.  Likewise after Andrew had holed a 20ft putt for a 2 at the 17th, David promptly followed with his 6ft birdie putt finding the bottom of the cup.  David managed to rein in Andrew's lead of 4 up after 17 by taking the 18th with a solid par, leaving the score before lunch at Andrew 3 up. 

Afternoon Rounds....

GENTS' FINAL - from Referee and Captain Alastair Kerr

Although 1 down on the 19th, Martin Fitheridge started off the afternoon the steadier of the two players and by the 5th was 2 up. Bran Ross then found his form and hit young Martin with a steady run of pars interspersed with 3 birdies.  By the 13th it was all square, then Martin took 3 from the side of the green to go 1 down.  A birdie at the 15th evened the match but a 5 for Martin at the 16th after he found the sand from the tee put Brian in the driving seat. Both players parred the remaining holes leaving Brian the winner at the 18th by 1 hole.  A rip roaring match of very high quality played in the most sporting manner.  

LADIES' FINAL

Rachael Watton maintained her form of earlier in the day to complete the front nine holes of the afternoon in 2 under par with birdies at the 2nd, 7th and 9th, increasing her lead over Claire Hargan by a further 2 holes. Claire played on in very good spirit and with her customary modest and very sporting personality but Rachael closed out the match on the 10th hole of the afternoon round in good style with a birdie 2.  Well done to both ladies who entertained the crowd with some stunning golf and some good humour, and congratulations to Rachael - the youngest Mortonhall Ladies' Champion in history! 

JUNIORS' FINAL - from Referee Donald King

The rematch of the 2009 final between Andrew Tillie and David Paul in the afternoon resembled a boxing match as the pair match blow for blow with some exceptional ball striking.  David mounted a fight back by pulling back the match to all square on the 9th tee.  The turning point was when Andrew held his nerve and holed a birdie putt on the 9th green to go 1 up at the turn and won the match by 3&2.  Both juniors were a credit to the club by their conduct on the course and the encouragement offered to each other.  Well done boys and who knows, we may have another rematch of this final to look forward to in 2011.   

SENIORS' FINAL - from Referee Kerr Fraser

Ken McKinlay and Duke Perry led off the afternoon’s play in sultry weather conditions and  gave us an excellent exhibition of golf with steady driving, excellent bunker play and dazzling putting.

Ken secured the lead at the first when Duke’s drive found sand. At the 3rd, Ken found the new trial sand in the green-side bunker to his liking and hit the pin with his bunker shot to halve the hole. Sand punished Duke at the 5th and despite getting up and down with a 25 foot put for par, Ken drilled in his 10 foot put to win the hole. Duke just failed to win the 6th when his 25 foot putt lipped the hole. Ken then rubbed salt into the wound at the 7th with a brilliant 5 iron to 3 feet facilitating his birdie. Duke got one back at the 8th when Ken uncharacteristically found trees on the right with his 2nd and could only scramble a bogie. At the 10th, both players failed to find the putting surface with their tee shots but Ken’s sandy par was enough to get him back to 3 up. The right green-side bunker at the 12th looked as if it would punish Ken but another sandy par, sinking a 20 footer kept him at 3 up. His accurate putting at 13 put him to 4 up but just let him down at 14. However Ken was dormie 3 up playing 16, which proved too much for Duke who shook hands with the new Senior Champion who won 3 and 2 .

GENTS' B FINAL - from Referee Bill Aitken

The Gents' B final brought together seasoned campaigner Donald Denoon and  new comer Gregor Crawford.  Their golf did not quite match the standard of their semi-finals but they did enjoy the excellent playing conditions. At the third hole Donald played out of the new bunker sand on the left for the first time and his ball hit the pin before dropping at the hole side to secure the first half of the round.  They progressed steadily  till the eighth where they played three provisional balls between them before both being content with a high scoring half.  By the turn Donald had established a 4 hole lead which he was to maintain until the match finished on the 15th green. 

LADIES' B FINAL - from Referee Brendan Dick

The Ladies B Final, between Elaine Tait and Janet Oswald, was a finely fought contest. Janet took an early lead winning the 2nd and then the 3rd with an excellent birdie 2. Janet went further ahead to 3 up on the 6th but Elaine fought back with an excellent 3 on the 7th. Holes were swapped regularly from then on, Janet winning the 9th to be 3 up at the turn but Elaine came straight back to win the 10th with a 3. Janet won the 11th, with Elaine winning the 12th and the 13th was halved in 5. Both players were on the 14th in 2 but Elaine, with a long putt to a treacherously positioned pin, slipped beyond the hole onto the fringe and lost, going 3 down. Elaine bounced back however winning the 15th to go back to 2 down. Janet closed off the final with an excellent birdie on the 16th, winning the Ladies B Championship 2010 3 & 2. Congratulations to both players for an excellent final played in great spirit.

                                     Congratulations to the MGC Champions of 2010

Friday 25th - Semi Finals

It was a beautifully calm summer's evening - the course looked spectacular in the sunlight and the golf was excellent.  Four of this evening's matches ended on the 18th green including both of the Gents' Semi Finals.  Commiserations to all the losing semi -finalists who all mounted  good challenges in their matches and ensured that the players going through really deserved their places in the finals.

Now the stage is set for The 2010 MGC Championship Finals.

 .  ............. . The Championship Boards are waiting in the halls of Mortonhall.  Whose names will be placed there after tomorrow's Finals matches?

Gents - Martin Fitheridge or Brian Ross

Ladies - Claire Hargan or Rachael Watton

Juniors - David Paul or Andrew Tillie

And who will lift the other trophies ready and gleaming in the clubhouse?

Seniors - Ken McKinlay or Duke Perry

Ladies' B - Janet Oswald or Elaine Tait

Gents' B - Gregor Crawford or Donald Denoon

Exciting isn't it!!

Thursday 24th.

While some stayed at home to watch a certain Wimbledon Tennis Marathon the Mortonhall Seniors and Ladies were battling it out in their Championship Quarter Finals. First out of the blocks was Ken McKinlay who, although 2up at the turn, was taken the full distance by Mike McFee before booking his place in the Semi-Finals tomorrow. Duke Perry won his match and played so well that Iain McMurrich claimed he had 19 single putts....    Other victors in this section were Les Bailey who took an early lead and closed out his match against Alan Burnett with a tap in birdie putt at the 15th, and Colin Crooks who played well to overcome John Notman in a close match.

In the Ladies matches Monica Fleming played superbly and, with a short game 'to die for', was just too good for Carol Brown, and Jenny Jack gave Claire Hargan a challenging match in the bottom half of the draw.  In the Ladies' B Quarter Finals, defending Champion Janet Oswald is through after overcoming a stiff challenge from Aileen Brannan. Long hitter Lorna Cunningham was just pipped by stalwart of the Ladies' Section Jacques Dick, and Elaine Tait had to put in a really good performance to beat Ann Patrick. Christian Boorman joins these ladies in the last 4 after her great match against recent medal winner Alison Fraser.

Wednesday 23rd.

An on form Mark Dickson played too well for defending Champion Mike Cramond who sadly bowed out of the Gents' Quarter Finals this evening. The second match of the Gents' draw saw a strong performance from Martin Fitheridge who overcame Ali Bell - the formula for Martin's success includes lying down on the greens to line up his putts.  New member Stuart Cochran certainly has made his name at Mortonhall by putting in a very creditable performance to reach this stage in the Championship but it was Martin Hopley who goes through to the next round.  Martin's secret weapon might just have been that accuracy of shot courtesy of Sky Caddie!  The drama of the evening came in the final match between Chris Timms and Brian Ross.  They halved the 12th with a brace of birdies but Brian moved to the 13th with a 3 hole advantage. Chris fought back to take the 13th and 14th and after halving 15, 16 and 17 in pars the pair moved to the 18th with Brian 1 up.  Under pressure Chris holed a great birdie putt to take the match to all square ..........and it was up the 19th.........  However Brian won the match with a splendid birdie and goes forward to meet Martin Hopley in what is sure to be a great semi-final on Friday.

In the Junior Semi-Final, Danny Tritton had some fabulous shots including an eagle at the 12th against Andrew Tillie and Ewan Swann played extremely well against David Paul also.  It was great to see all four players entering the matchplay in such good spirit, but it will be Andrew Tillie who meets David Paul in a re-run of last year's Junior Championship Final.

Tuesday 22nd

A warm and sunny day at Mortonhall gave way to breezy conditions in the evening for the Gents' B, Seniors and Juniors 1st Rounds. Leading Qualifier in the Gents' B, Bob Jackman unfortunately fell to an 'on song' Donald Denoon whose performance included a birdie at the 12th. The Seniors draw had two titans of the game, and last year's finalists Ken McKinlay and Keith Clark meeting in the first round.  After gaining momentum at the 16th by holing a long birdie putt to go 1up, Ken eventually secured victory at the 18th in a dramatic turn around of last year's result. Iain McMurrich also took the victory spoils on the 18th in his match against the smooth swinging Tom Cruickshank - Iain setting the tone for their round with a cheeky little birdie at the first hole.  The 'night watchman' award goes to Colin Crooks who pipped Jim Smith at the 21st. The Junior matches also saw some fine golf from all concerned.  Andrew Tillie played 2 under par to prevail over Rory Gibson and David Paul was level par when he shook hands with Robert King.  Well done also to Danny Tritton and Ewan Swann who go through to an exciting draw for the Junior Semi Final tomorrow.

Monday 21st

It was a beautiful day for the Summer Solstice and a lovely evening for the gents' first round. The 2009 Club Champion Mike Cramond made a good start to his 2010 campaign with a win over David Clark and leading qualifier Brian Ross won his match despite a good fight from his opponent Douglas Keir.  Douglas had the accolade of having 'shot of the evening' when he found the hole at the 6th with his second, for eagle. Other tight games saw Chris Timms and Stuart Cochran each win their matches by one hole against David Miller and Vice Captain David Bonar respectively, and Ali Bell win on the 19th against new Mortonhall member Scot Napier.   Ian Wilson played some super shots but was eventually beaten 3&2 by young Martin Fitheridge. Martin Hopley won against John Duff by the same margin and Mark Dickson played some excellent golf to overcome a valiant fight by Andrew Hogg by a 4&3 margin.

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Gents day one qualifying results click here

For all sections Championship Sunday results click here

Gents A Match Play draw

Gents B Match Play draw

Gents Seniors Match Play draw

Ladies A Match Play draw

Ladies B Match Play draw

Juniors Match Play draw