Scottish student championships end with men's team title at Moray GC

Stirling retain Charles McNeill Trophy after

dominant foursomes performance

         WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - AGAIN!   Stirling's victorious line-up after the 2016 final.

By BEN PHILIP
The University of Stirling retained the men’s team match-play title on the last day of the  Scottish student golf championships at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth.
They beat the University of Strathclyde by 9.5 to 2.5pts in the final.

Late was the buzzword of the morning as line-up changes and comebacks bookended the morning foursomes.

Strathclyde's James Johnston was not able to shake off a troublesome wrist injury (aggravated during the first round of the stroke-play) and so Callum Connachie, originally rested from the foursomes due to his own injury, was recalled to play in Match 4.

The rejigged Strathclyde line-up struggled to cope with the strength of the Stirling team and the top and bottom matches were quickly resolved, Stirling winning Match 1 by 6 and 4 and Match r by 4 and 3. 
Match 3 was also over before the the 16th hole, Stirling securing a 5 and 3 victory.

The only Strathclyde resistance came from Cameron Graham and Richard Johnston who had a back-and-forth match against Stirling’s Sean Walter and Colin Edgar. 
The Strathclyde pair edged ahead on the 17th before Howie and Edgar managed a birdie on the last to secure the hole and take a half point.

After a brief stop in the clubhouse to refuel, the teams went out for the afternoon singles matches sporting two changes – Andrew Davidson coming in for Colin Edgar on the Stirling team and James Johnston replacing Callum Connacher for Strathclyde.

The early singles matches carried on in the same vein as the foursomes with Stirling’s players working to make sure there was no rally from the Strathclyde team.

Henry Tomlinson was three under through 12 as he defeated Neil McConnachie 8 and 6 while both James Wilson and Chris Maclean wrapped up their matches on the 12th with 7 and 6 wins over Richard Johnston and Cameron Graham respectively. 
 John Grant battled to keep his match alive but finally succumbed to Andrew Davidson on the 13th, going down 6 and 5. 
With Chris Maclean also an early winner by 7 and 6 over Cameron Graham, Stirling had secured the Charles McNeill Trophy.

Strathclyde were still battling in the remaining matches as Andrew Wright and Sean Walter were all square through 15, and Craig Hughes (one up on  Laird Shepherd) and James Johnston (two up againsr Mathias Eggenberger) led through 12 and 13 holes respectively. 
Craig Howie, demonstrating his fondness for the Lossiemouth links as the 2016 stroke-play champion, and new course record holder, was three up through 12 over Craig Chalmers in the top singles match.

Walter eventually prevailed by one hole, while James Johnston got Strathclyde’s first full point of the day with a 4 and 3 victory over  Eggenberger. 
Hughes followed Johnston's lead, taking a one-hole victory after a seesaw battle with Shepherd. The final match on the course went to the 17th green, where Howie won 3 and 1

Men's team Final
STIRLING 9.5, STRATHCLYDE 2.5
Foursomes: 3.5-0.5
Chris Maclean and Laird Shepherd bt Neil McConnachie and John Grant 6 and 4.
Sean Walter and Colin Edgar halved with Cameron Graham and Richard Johnston
James Wilson and Henry Tomlinson bt Andrew Wright and Craig Chalmers (Strathclyde) 5 and 3
Craig Howie and Mathias Eggenberger bt Craig Hughes and Callum Connachie 4 and 3.
SINGLES: 6-2
Andrew Davidson bt Grant 6 and 5.
Walter bt Wright 1 hole.
Tomlinson bt McConnachie 8 and 6.
Wilson bt R Johnston 7 and 6.
Maclean bt Graham 7 and 6
Shepherd lost to Hughes 1 hole
Eggenberger lost to James Johnston 4 and 3. 
Howie bt Chalmers 3 and 1.