THREE years after losing to the same opponents in the final, Royal Burgess took sweet revenge as they beat Kingsknowe at Glencorse yesterday to win the Applecross Edinburgh Summer League for the first time.
Kingsknowe had been desperate to regain the title in the club's centenary year but Bill Buchan's boys were simply swept away by a Burgess side that just didn't want to experience the pain of falling at the final hurdle once again.
They won 6½-2½ t
o cap a tremendous recovery after they had started this season's group phase with two straight defeats.
"This is just fantastic," beamed Royal Burgess team captain Richard Hughes. "We were all bitterly disappointed after losing narrowly in the final to Kingsknowe three years ago. I felt we were a stronger side this season and I think that's been evident."
As had been the case in the semi-final win over Silverknowes, Hughes sent out Grant Hill in the No.1 slot and he delivered the goods, beating Mike Foley by 3 and 2.
All square at the turn, Hill holed a 20-foot birdie putt at the tenth to get his nose in front before hitting his opponent with back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th, chipping in from 20 feet for his 2 at the latter.
"It is always important to get that first point on the board so I was delighted with my win," said Hill, who had seen young James Ross match his margin in beating Scott Knowles in the match immediately behind his own.
Since reaching the final of the Lothians Championship early last season, 18-year-old Ross has gone from strength to strength. Understandably, he was delighted to beat such an experienced campaigner as Knowles.
Four up after 11, Ross then lost three holes in a row as Knowles, a former Scottish internationalist, started to sink some putts. "I was a bit nervous at that point as I'd heard my match was going to be important," he later admitted.
Watched by his coach, Royal Burgess pro Stephen Bryan, Ross was able to breathe a bit easier again after winning the 15th before closing out the match at the next.
"Scott is a very experienced player so it's a great scalp for me," said Ross.
In winning the top two matches, Royal Burgess had given themselves the perfect start and things became even better when John Miller chalked up the day's biggest win, 7 and 6 over Alan MacKay.
Miller was four up after six and moved closer to what was fast becoming an inevitable victory by producing the shot of the day, holing an 8-iron second shot for an eagle at the ninth.
Grant Pollock also looked to be on course for a big win when he boarded the 12th tee with a six-hole cushion over Liam McLaughlin. To his credit, McLaughlin threatened a fightback with birdies at the 13th and 14th before three-putting the 16th to lose 4 and 2.
It was looking very grim for Kingsknowe at that point, but they came out on top in the two matches that went the full distance.
Never down in his match, Mike Robson produced an excellent pitch at the last to seal a win over Jim Thomson, while Steve McCulloch recovered from being three down to beat Brian Tait.
That made it 4-2 but, even though Paul Page was up on Fraser McCluskey in the anchor match, Burgess were in the driving seat in the two other games. In the end, it was a just case of whether John Yuille or John Fraser would secure the title triumph.
That honour would have fallen to Yuille if he hadn't three-putted the 16th, having to wait until the next, where he produced a great shot from an awful position in a greenside bunker, to beat Alan Crabbe by 2 and 1.
It was left to Fraser to seal the Barnton club's place in the record books, the Scottish Seniors' internationalist coming back from one down after four holes to beat his namesake, Graeme, by 4 and 3.
"We are disappointed, especially, as we wanted to win the league in our centenary year but, on the day, we lost to a better team," admitted Kingsknowe team captain Bill Buchan.
Match details (Royal Burgess names first): Grant Hill beat Mike Foley 3 and 2; James Ross beat Mike Robson 3 and 2; Brian Tait lost to Steve McCulloch one hole; Jim Thomson lost to Mike Robson one hole; Grant Pollock beat Liam McLaughlin 4 and 2; John Yuille beat Alan Crabbe 2 and 1; John Miller beat Alan MacKay 7 and 6; John Fraser beat Graeme Fraser 4 and 3; Fraser McCluskey halved with Paul Page.
Royal Burgess 6½ Kingsknowe 2½ The full article contains 807 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
