SCOTTISH AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Ayrshire grab semi final place in new format event

Ayrshire are in the semi finals of the 2010 Moneygate Scottish Area Team Championship after the strokeplay qualifying rounds were completed at Kinross Golf Club on Saturday 15 May.

AYRSHIRE

Vs

NORTH EAST

With the championship being contested under a revised format for the first time this year, Ayrshire finished fourth of the 16 SGU Area teams to join defending champions Renfrewshire as well as Lothians and the North East in the semi finals on Sunday morning.

LOTHIANS

Vs.

RENFREWSHIRE

In the qualifying rounds, over the Bruce and Montgomery courses, the best five scores from six over each course combined to provide the team score.

Over the par 73 Bruce course, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) and Steven McEwan (Caprington) were best for the county with two under par rounds of 71, which was added to scores of 77 by Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie), 78 by John Shanks (Irvine) and 79 by Scott Brown (Turnberry) to give a course total of 376 for the county side. Stephen Murray (Troon Welbeck) provided the non counting score over the Bruce course, with an 82.

On the Montgomery course Steven McEwan led the way for the team with a one over par 73 followed by John Shanks (74), Jack McDonald (75), Stephen Murray (76) and Euan Brown (77), for course total of 375. Scott Brown provided the non counting score over the Montgomery course with a 79.

Ayrshire's overall team score of 751 saw them take the fourth qualifying place by four shots from Dumbartonshire in fifth place.

FINAL TEAM TOTALS
(Bruce & Montgomery course scores in brackets)

725 - NORTH EAST (363/362)
742 - LOTHIANS (368/374)
745 - RENFREWSHIRE (371/374)
751 - AYRSHIRE (376/375)
755 - DUMBARTONSHIRE (376/379)
756 - STIRLINGSHIRE (378/378), LANARKSHIRE (377/379)
758 - PERTH & KINROSS (366/392)
759 - FIFE (382/377)
767 - CLACKMANNANSHIRE (378/389)
768 - BORDERS (377/391)
771 - ANGUS (382/389)
772 - GLASGOW (385/387)
778 - NORTH (384/394)
781 - SOUTH (391/390)
803 - ARGYLL & BUTE (398/405)


In the first Semi Final on Sunday morning Ayrshire face the fancied North East team, and will be looking for revenge over the side who ended Ayrshire's reign as Area Team Champions en route to the semi finals of the 2009 competition.

The second semi final matches defending champions Renfrewshire with Lothians, who are bidding to add a fourteenth win in the championship to their previous successes.