Golf: West and Fife set out their stalls in the Winter League

West made it two wins out of two after following up a home win over East a fortnight ago by beating Mid at Newbattle. Moreover, they won well, 8.5-1.5 to be precise, to give their goal difference an early boost.

In terms of experience, no-one can come close to West at the moment, with the likes of Alan Anderson, Gary Corrigan, Keith Reilly, Stuart Crookston, Mark Timmins and Scott  McClory all having been around the block a few times.

Timmins chalked up one of the impressive West wins on this occasion, beating Kingsknowe’s Allyn Dick 2 and 1 in a battle between two former Lothians champions. In contrast, Mid are having to rely on mostly youngsters at the moment. But, while the likes of  Anthony Blaney, Anthony Eardley and Willem Kerr are all bright young talents, they’re all still finding their feet on this stage.

Fife had to settle for a share of the spoils with Mid when their opening clash was hit by bad weather a fortnight ago. But the men from the Kingdom showed their credentials by winning 6-4 away to East at Musselburgh.

The host club’s Benn McLeod and rising star Calum Hill from Tantallon both recorded decent wins for the home team. But, even though it was by no means their strongest team, Fife still had too much firepower on the day for their opponents.

Even this early in the campaign, the next round of matches – on November 9 – could prove pivotal in the title race. That’s when Fife entertain league leaders West at Lundin Links while it’s Mid versus East at Duddingston.