Golf: Bullish Marr aiming to unsettle top seed Byrne

LOTHIANS duo Cameron Marr and Allyn Dick both set out at Gullane today gunning for top seed James Byrne in the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship.

Marr, the 17-year-old rising star at Musselburgh, got the first crack at the Banchory player in this morning's fourth round, with the winner of that one facing either Dick, the Lothians champion from Kingsknowe, or David Shields in the last 16 later in the day.

"I'm going into it feeling confident and hopefully can put James under pressure," said Marr, one of the success stories of this year's SGU flagship event.

A golf student at Elmwood College in Fife, he started last season off six but is now off scratch, having been down to plus one for a spell.

Marr was one down after four holes in his third-round match yesterday against Torrance House's Alan Welsh, who'd claimed a notable scalp earlier in the week when beating Jack McDonald.

But the Monktonhall man squared matters in spectacular fashion - holing an 8-iron from 150 yards for an eagle-2 at the fifth.

Still all square with four to play, Marr won the 15th, where he was safely on in two and two-putted from 15 feet for his birdie, before clinching his win when a par-4 proved good enough at the 17th.

"I was hacking it about a bit on the front nine but drove a lot better after the turn," he said.

"I knew Alan had a good win over Jack but I was feeling confident after my two 5 and 4 successes in the earlier rounds."

Dick, who cruised to a 7 and 6 success over double Lothians Boys' champion Simon Fairburn, is hoping he can play his way into the Scotland side this week for the forthcoming Home Internationals in Wales.

"On the back of my win in the Newlands Trophy at Lanark, I should be in contention," he said.

"I think there are probably four spots up for grabs and Matt Clark, Scott Crichton, Scott Larkin, Peter Latimer and Brian Soutar have all gone out early here.

"It's about performing on the big stage - that's where it counts - and hopefully I can influence the selectors with my display this week."

Dick, who lost to Dollar's Scott Borrowman in the first round when the event was last staged at Gullane six years ago, was conceded four holes by Fairburn but covered the 12 holes played in two-under.

"I've birdied the first three days in a row and hardly missed any fairways either," he said.

Marr and Dick were joined in the fourth round by three other Lothians players - Craigielaw's Myles Cunningham, Stephen Neilson of Dunbar and Baberton's Paul Ferrier.

Cunningham lost a ball off his opening tee shot against Milnathort's Jamie Arthur but recovered to progress with a 2 and 1 success.

"I'm playing pretty steady," said the 20-year-old, who has regained his love for the game thanks to some work he's been doing with former European Tour winner Dean Robertson.

"I was in the pub in Longniddry one night and got talking to Paul Gibson (the Lothians junior and coaching convenor]," he added. "I told him I wasn't enjoying my golf any more and he put me in touch with Dean, who has really got me sorted.

"My main problem in the past has been trying to keep my concentration but he's helped me a lot with that."

Neilson was two up with two to play but lost a ball at the 17th and then three-putted the last to find himself heading into extra holes. He missed from four feet to win it with a birdie at the 19th but went through with a conceded par at the next.

"I'm very pleased as I've lost in the third round a few times and was beginning to wonder if that was my limit in this event," beamed Neilson.

Ferrier showed his liking for match play golf when he won the Scottish Boys' Championship at Dunbar three years ago.

And he produced a solid display to book his place in the last 32 with another 2 and 1 over Pollok's Conor O'Neil, the runner-up in last week's Scottish Boys Stroke Play Championship at Craigielaw.

"I was one down after seven, having been a bit scrappy until then, but went two up after covering the eighth, ninth, tenth and 11th in par figures," reported Ferrier.

The Lothians man missed from three feet at the 16th to win the match and was relieved he wasn't made to pay for that, the next being halved in par-4s.

"It's still a bit of a struggle with the putter at times but the signs are better," said Ferrier, who now meets seed Ross Kellett in the fourth round. Kellett beat Gullane's Martin Hopley, who had earlier lived up to the name of his website - golfalot.com - by needing two extra holes to beat Scott Young of Turnhouse in the morning matches.

Hopley's home clubmate, Stuart Roberts, also made an afternoon exit, as did Craigielaw trio Shaun Deegan, Grant Forrest and Fraser Henderson and Duddingston's David Miller. Deegan wasn't disgraced in losing to 4 and 3 to Byrne, Forrest, the Scottish Boys' champion, saw his dream of the double dashed by Keith Hamilton, while Henderson went down to defending champion David Law, who found his putting touch in a 3 and 2 success.

Miller, who'd beat the useful Mark Halliday in the second round, lost by the same margin to former British Boys' champion Jordan Findlay, who reckoned he'd played his best golf of the week to beat the Lothians man.