Peebles power

Nick Rodger

Golf Correspondent

Sunday 15 April 2012

At least there was one Red celebrating in Aberdeen last night.

Craig Howie shows off his trophy Photograph: Kenny Smith

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Nick Rodger

Craig Howie, the flame-haired teenager from Peebles, joined a distinguished roll of honour as he powered to a 7 and 6 victory in the Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish Boys' Championship at Murcar Links.

In the 36-hole final duel with Ewan Scott of St Andrews, Howie made a title-winning surge on the opening half of the second 18 to take the trophy back to a Borders club for the first time in the event's 77-year history.

The speed at which proceedings concluded in the afternoon was surprising given that there had been little to separate the sparring duo for much of the day. With the tie all-square after 19 holes, the 17-year-old Howie suddenly grabbed the initiative and raced away like a Grand National jockey.He won seven of the next eight holes to romp into the distance and leave in tatters Scott's hopes of becoming the first St Andrews player to capture the crown for 52 years. The key to Howie's success was his putting, a vital weapon in the matchplay armoury, and his decisive thrust contained just 12 putts over the last 10 holes of the contest."It was the putting that won it for me," declared Howie, after adding another piece of junior silverware to the Peebles trophy cabinet following club-mate Ailsa Bain's win in the Scottish Girls' competition in 2009. "Coming into the event, I felt like I was good enough to win. I had some hard games during the week and needed to really fight to get through them but those matches gave me the belief that I could do it."On another bitterly cold, testing day on the north-east coast it was Scott who warmed to the task in hand as Howie, who had found himself on the back foot in the majority of his matches throughout the week, once again toiled in the early exchanges.While Scott signalled his intent by knocking his approach at the first to within four feet, Howie was left muddling about at the back of the green, having flown the putting surface with an over-zealous second shot from about 90 yards.The Borderer chipped on but missed from four feet and conceded Scott's birdie putt to fall one behind. A second birdie at the third doubled the Fifer's advantage and with Howie bogeying five of the first six holes, the signs looked ominous.The very nature of matchplay golf, however, means that redemption is never far away. Howie clawed a hole back with a par on the seventh and, as the encounter developed into an eagerly contested, nip-and-tuck joust, he levelled affairs with his first birdie of the day at the 13th. A healthy, and hardy, gathering of spectators were certainly enjoying the spectacle.Tournament sponsor Lawrie, left scunnered by Aberdeen FC's Scottish Cup defeat, was among the onlookers while the following also included Hugh Stuart, the 1959 Scottish Boys' champion, and former Ryder Cup player Harry Bannerman.The pendulum continued to swing and no sooner had Howie restored parity than a drive into the bunker on the 14th led to a bogey and concession of the hole to Scott.The response was swift, though, and a curling putt of 10 feet on the 15th for a birdie three squared things again. Both players passed up birdie opportunities at 16 and 17 before Howie got his nose in front for the first time on the 18th as Scott three-putted.The consensus in the clubhouse at the lunchtime interval was that the match would go the whole nine yards and when Scott won the first hole of the afternoon to get himself back on level terms that assessment was given added legitimacy. Yet, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, Howie roared into a seven-hole advantage and it was all done and dusted by mid-afternoon."Craig thoroughly deserved the win for the way he played," Scott said. "I got to the last two out of 256 players that started, so there's certainly no shame in that."

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