BUCS STUDENT TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS - McDonald retains national title

Ayrshire's Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) retained the BUCS Studenjt Tour Championship title at Crail's Craighead Links this week.

(From the www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk website)

REPORT AND SCORES FROM DR ROB MACPHERSON Overnight leaders Jack McDonald (Stirling) and Rebecca Gibbs (Kingston upon Thames) retained their positions to win the men's and women's titles respectively in the BUCS Student Tour Championship over the Crail Golfing Society's Craighead links today. Defending champion McDonald proved too consistent for the opposition and followed up his fifth place in the weekend's SGU Order of Merit 72-hole Battle Trophy tournament, with a well deserved win over the same course. McDonald, last year's SGU Player of the Year, signed off with a par 72 after three 73s in a row for a total of three-over-par 291. Never under threat, the Kilmarnock Barassie GC member  - who is a second year Mathematics student at Stirling - had two birdies in the first three holes of his final round to set him on his way to an impressive wire-to-wire win.    As the challenge from University of Exeter duo Nick Wildman and Laurie Potter fell away, it was left to Ryan McKinstry (Queens University, Belfast) and McDonald's own Stirling University teammates to provide the competition. McKinstry finished second on 296 (83-74-69-70) with Irishman Cormac Sharvin (Stirling) joint third on 297 (82-72-73-70) alongside team-mate Oliver Roberts (79-75-72-71) Eight of the top ten men came from Scotland's premier golfing university and, unsurprisingly they captured gold and silver in the Men's Team competition with McDonald leading Zander Culverwell, Craig Howie and Mathias Eggenberger to victory over their second team rivals. In the women's championship, new course-record holder Rebecca Gibbs (Kingston upon Thames) raced to the turn in two under par 36, establishing a seven-shot lead over her playing partners and closest rivals - Gabrielle MacDonald (St Andrews) and Katie Bradbury (Exeter).    Despite dropping some shots on the way home, a spectacular eagle 3 on the final hole allowed Rebecca to post a final total of 300 (79-70-74-77) to secure a two-shot victory over Gabrielle MacDonald (77-78-73-74) with Katie Bradbury third on 305 (77-75-75-78). FINAL TOTALS Par 288 (4x72) 291 Jack McDonald (Stirling)    73    73    73    72   296 Ryan McKinstry (Queen's Belfast)    83    74    69    70   297 Cormac Sharvin (Stirling)    82    72    73    70   297 Oliver Roberts (Stirling)     79    75    72    71   299 Patrick Spraggs (Stirling)    78    72    77    72   299 Mathias Eggenberger (Stirling)    80    78    69    72   299 Craig Howie (Stirling)        83    76    68    72   301 Alexander Culverwell (Stirling)    81    76    72    72   302 Patrick Mullins (Wales Newport)    78    76    76    72   303 Michael Howard (Stirling)    78    75    74    76   305 Laurie Potter (Exeter)           79    74    72    80   306 Louis Tomlinson (Plymouth)  82    74    77    73   306 Matt Wheeler (St Andrews)    80    77    74    75   307 Joe Timlin (Queen's Belfast)   84    73    74    76   308 Andrew Wilson (Northumbria) 83    77    71    77   310 Danny Vallis (Exeter)               84    75    78    73   310 Josh Bassit (Northumbria)      86    73    76    75   311 Nick Wildman (Exeter)          79    73    76    83   314 Ryan Gribben (Ulster)        87    79    77    71   314 Ben Leigh (Exeter)             82    81    77    74   314 Kit Holmes (Stirling)          84    78    77    75   314 Craig Chalmers (Strathclyde)    86    74    76    78 314 Jack Lampkin (Northumbria)    86    76    73    79   315 Robert Harrhy (Bournemouth)    90    75    73    77   316 Dean Newbold (Wales Newport)    79    76    76    85   317 Oliver Mottram (Wales Newport)    90    75    80    72   317 Tiarnan McLarnon (Ulster)    82    81    78    76   317 John Robinson (Ulster)           84    79    73    81   318 Thomas Jessamine (Birmingham)    80    80    78    80   320 Harry Chapple (Birmingham)  84    83    73    80   320 Jack Irwin (Exeter)                  84    77    77    82   321 Freddie Edmunds (St Andrews) 93    81    74    73   321 Chris Fleming (Exeter)             87    78    79    77   321 Angus Carrick (Stirling)          84    81    75    81   322 Alex Baker (Northumbria)      84    78    81    79   323 Callum McNeill (UHI)             87    79    84    73     324 Michael Bacigalupo (guest)    89    79    75    81   327 Steven Burn (Northumbria)    91    81    77    78   327 Fraser Johnston (guest)       84    83    81    79   329 Tai Yasuda (Loughborough)    88    85    77    79   331 Andrew Davidson (guest)    92    78    83    78   332 Sam Maltby (Bournemouth)    82    88    83    79   333 Ben Yeomans (Birmingham)    96    78    80    79   344 Daniel McAleese (Queens,Belfast)89    82    88    85   WOMEN Par 296 (4x74) 300 Rebecca Gibbs (Kingston upon Thames) 79    70    74    77   302 Gabrielle MacDonald (St Andrews)77    78    73    74   305 Katie Bradbury (Exeter)     77    75    75    78   309 Miranda Brain (St Andrews)    81    79    72    77   315 Ami Storey (Northumbria)    84    78    76    77   316 Elizabeth Stebbings (Liverpool)    82    76    72    86   317 Charlotte Austwick (York)    86    74    85    72 317 Iona Stephen (St Andrews)    82    76    79    80   322 Emma Newlove (Birmingham)    84    82    78    78   324 Emily Cheshire (Leeds Metro)    86    78    79    81   326 Franzisca Benze (St Andrews)    87    79    80    80   328 Amy Chambers (St Andrews)    92    78    83    75   335 Lauren Collinson (Durham)    85    83    86    81   348 Zhanna Tarasko (St Andrews)    91    91    83    83