9am Round-Up: Lloyd Saltman wins East Alliance Championship for third time

Lloyd Saltman kept it in the family as he succeeded his elder brother, Eliott, as the East Alliance champion.

Lloyd Saltman. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The former Walker Cup player opened with a 65 (34-31) on Gullane No 3 before adding a superb 64 (32-32) on the neighbouring No 2 layout at the East Lothian venue.

The combined effort saw the Archerfield Links player finish three shots ahead of his younger brother, Zack (66-66), as he claimed the Uniroyal Quaich for a third time overall.

Saltman’s first success in the event came in 2006, the year after he finished as leading amateur in The Open at St Andrews, before reclaiming the title in 2014.

Bathgate’s Louis Gaughan (69-64) and Gullane’s Marc Owenson (66-67) shared third spot in an event featuring the top 60 players on the winter circuit’s scratch Order of Merit this season.

The amateur prize, the Gavin Clark Trophy, was won by Kingsknowe’s Donny Munro, 12 months after he shared it with two other players.

The three-handicapper carded a net aggregate of 132 (67-65) to finish three shots clear of Archerfield Links seven-handicapper Mark Sokolowski (71-64).

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Former Scottish Amateur champion Chris Robb had the leader in his sights heading into the second round of the MENA Tour’s the Royal Golf Mohammedia Open by HLO in Morocco.

The Banchory man carded a one-under-par 71 on the opening day of the third-tier circuit’s new season to sit joint-12th, three shots behind leader Andrew Marshall from England.

Defending champion Paul Doherty was a shot further back, with another Scot, Duncan Stewart, alongside him in joint-18th.

Marshall picked one shot on the front nine and three on the back to seize a one-shot lead over a seven-strong group that included compatriot Zane Scotland.

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Sean Lawrie, Paul’s nephew, and Fraserburgh amateur Gordon Munro shared top spot in the final North-East Alliance event of the season at McDonald Golf Club in Ellon.

They carded matching seven-under-par 63s to finish a stroke ahead of Craig Lawrie, the circuit’s newly-crowned champion, and fellow Paul Lawrie Golf Centre player Kevin Duncan.

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The Midland Golfers’ Alliance raised £500 for charity at the Helen Sherry Burntisland Texas Scramble.

Winners with a score of 53.7 were Pitreavie pro Paul Brookes and his amateur playing partners - S Birrell, B Hynd and F Carr.

Shot of the day went to Scotscraig’s Drew Herd, who aced the par-3 fifth hole.