(From the SGU website)A fine display from James Byrne and Michael Stewart (pictured) on the final day saw Scotland finish in fifth place after a spirited defence of the Eisenhower Trophy in Buenos Aires, with France crowned the new World Amateur Team champions.
After Ross Kellett was unable to play again due to illness, it was left to Byrne and Stewart to fly the flag and an excellent one-under 71 from Byrne and a three-over 75 from Stewart in extremely windy conditions saw the Scots post a 54-hole aggregate of 436, six-over par for the championship. That saw Scotland jump from tenth to fifth, one better than their finish in the 2006 championship.
Byrne maintained the excellent form he displayed in Friday’s second round, opening up with a birdie four at the 10th, his first hole of the day. He dropped three consecutive shots at the 13th, 14th and 15th before bouncing back with a superb run of four birdies on the spin at the 17th, 18th, 1st and 2nd. The Banchory man bogeyed the par three fifth, but parred the final four holes to record one of the few sub-par rounds of the day and clinch a share of fourth spot in the individual event.
Stewart endured a frustrating day with the putter, giving himself numerous chances but he was only able to convert one birdie at his opening hole. A bogey at the 11th followed by a double-bogey at the short 14th put him back to two-over for his round, before dropping another shot at the third to sign off for a closing 75, leaving the Scottish Amateur Champion seven-over for the championship.
SGU national coach Ian Rae praised the players’ efforts over the final two days: “The first day really set us back and obviously we’ve been handicapped by Ross’s sickness, but the lads showed tremendous spirit to finish in fifth place with the pressure of both players’ scores having to count for the final round.”
“The course was playing really tough today with such strong winds, which highlights what a good score James had out there. To get four birdies in a row was a remarkable achievement and he can be very proud of his performance. Michael also played very well and but was unlucky with the number of putts which just shaved the hole.” he added.
“Overall, we’re pretty pleased with the way we’ve fought back from the disappointment of the opening day and the players have worked hard to get us high up the leaderboard, beating some strong teams in the process. We’d like to congratulate France, who are worthy champions.”
France are the new world amateur team champions having led the championship from start to finish, posting a three-round aggregate of 423, seven-under par. The team of Johann Lopez-Lazaro, Alexander Levvy and Scottish Stroke Play champion Romain Wattel held off the challenge from Denmark and the United States to record an emphatic four-shot victory, with the Danes clinching the runners-up spot.
The United States finished one behind the Danes in third spot, with New Zealand one ahead of Scotland in fourth and Ireland in sixth.
A full list of scores can be viewed at www.worldamateur2010.org/
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