The North East were celebrating again on Sunday as their Boys team won the Scottish Area title for the first time at Gleddoch Golf Club.
FORMAT: Team 18-hole foursomes (2 from 2 counting) / stroke play (3 from 4 counting)
Hot on the heels of the men’s squad winning the equivalent national title at Powfoot last weekend, Fraser Laird (Kemnay), Scott Spark (Newmacher), Callum Bruce (Deeside) and Koby Buchan (Cruden Bay) combined to finish four shots clear of Lothians.
The boys put in a remarkable effort in the afternoon singles having trailed by six shots after the morning foursomes with Buchan and Spark both shooting sub-par rounds to lead their team to glory.
Junior captain Stuart Milne said: “When we were asked to sign the winners flag you couldn’t hide the smiles and excitement in all of us.
“To overturn a six-shot deficit and win by four shots was something else and it was wonderful to be part of a historic moment for North East golf.
“The boys were tremendous and their attitude was first class.”
RELATED: North East Men win Scottish title at Powfoot
Milne had set the boys the target of finishing six over after the foursomes and they were just one off that.
Jaffray Cup champion Bruce and Buchan were out first and finished with a five-over-par 77 having started on the eighth. A lost ball on the par five 11th led to a double bogey but they battled on well.
Laird and Spark fought back superly after finishing themselves five over after nine hole and they eventually closed with a 74 as the North led the way on one over while reigning champions Ayrshire were next (+5), just ahead of Lothians (+6).
In the singles 16-year-old Buchan set the tone for what was to follow as, in the first seven holes, he bagged two birdies and an eagle at the fifth where he rolled one in from 12 feet.
A double at nine left him two under at the turn before he recovered those shots only to double 17 and he would finish with an excellent 70 (-2).
One shot worse off was Spark, who produced two stunning up and downs (2nd & 8th) on his way to a 71. His bunker shot on the eighth will live long in the memory of his captain. With the ball just a yard on the second of two tiers, the 17-year-old fizzed the ball up the green and it stopped just an inch from the hole
Milne added: “That has to be one of the best up and downs I have ever seen. In fact afterwards Scott said he didn’t think it was possible to get it up and down.”
With three from four scores counting in the singles, 15-year-old Bruce’s level par 72 ensured an overall total of 364 and their three-under singles score was five better than the runners-up with the North dropping back to third after an 11-shot swing in the afternoon.
Bruce maintained his composure after losing a ball at the third and he birdied the fifth and ninth to get himself out in level par. On the way in he had one birdie and one bogey.
Meanwhile Scottish Boys champions Laird went round in 75 and the boys faced a nervous wait to discover they had done it.