The North East used the new format of the Moneygate Scottish Area Team Championship to full advantage to stroll to their first title in 18 years by comfortably beating defending champions Renfrewshire in the final at Kinross Golf Club.
David Law, who claimed both the Scottish men’s and boys’ amateur titles in 2009, also helped secure the team title as part of a strong six-man side featuring three elite squad players who would probably not have been available under the old format for the championships, which was played over four Sundays throughout the summer.
This was the inaugural year of a new format where the championship is played over one weekend, with the top four aggregates from Saturday qualifying for Sunday semi-finals and final, which take the format of one foursomes match and four singles played simultaneously.
The North East’s three national squad players Law, the in-form Kris Nicol and Philip McLean would have been playing individual ranking events across Europe under the old system, but were able to play an influential role in bringing the trophy back to the north-east for the first time since 1992.
The team were anchored by Bryan Innes, playing in his 12th championship and fifth final but winning for the first time.
After Innes and Murcar club colleague Anthony Bews won the foursomes tie in the final, Nicol second in the Lytham Trophy and Irish Strokeplay in recent weeks and McLean brought in the crucial points in the singles in fine style.
Nicol closed out his match against former Amateur champion Craig Watson at the long 15th on the Montgomery course with a 280-yard three-wood to three feet for eagle while McLean clinched his match against Andrew Farmer with a 40 foot birdie putt at the short 14th to win 5 and 4.
Both finished with four-under figures for the final games, with Scott Larkin beating veteran Ronnie Clark 4 and 2 and Law having his game with Matthew Clark.
In the morning semi-final against Ayrshire the North East saw two of their big guns beaten in singles, as Nicol fell 2 and 1 to John Shanks while Law was defeated by the Scottish Boys’ strokeplay champion Jack McDonald 3 and 2, but narrow singles win for McLean and Larkin and the foursomes duo took them through.
The defending champions lost their foursomes semi-final match to the Lothians but won three of four singles and halved the other, Clark’s 6 and 4 hammering of Lothians champion Allyn Dick being the highlight.
Clackmannanshire’s Scottish internationalist Scott Borrowman returned the best performance in Saturday’s qualifying with eight birdies in his 67.