Golf: No practice makes for perfect day

FORTYSOMETHING Brian Erskine rolled back the years to strike a blow for the old stagers on the opening day of the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship at Gullane.

The Merchants of Edinburgh man, who lifted the Lothians Champion of Champions 12 years ago, won a marathon first-round match against Aboyne's Ross Milne at the fourth extra hole.

Three up with five to play, Erskine suddenly found himself back to all square through a combination of him three-putting twice and his opponent holing "a big one".

Milne got up and down at the first three extra holes but finally succumbed at the 22nd, where Erskine hit a 7-iron to five feet for a match-winning birdie.

"I didn't have a practice round and the last time I played here was against Stephen Gallacher in the Lothians Championship," said the 43-year-old.

"This is also only the second time I've played in the Scottish Championship since Colin Montgomerie's win at Nairn - in 1987!"

Erskine, a podiatrist and property owner in the Capital, had to work the hardest of all the 74 winners on the opening day, which brought a good rate of success overall for Lothians players.

Unfortunately for two of them, Zander Culverwell and Grant Forrest, their opening wins meant they were set to meet in the second round today.

Culverwell, the 2006 Lothians champion from Dunbar, didn't drop a shot in the 13 holes he needed to beat Bonnyton's Allan Johnston 6 and 5.

"You always want to do well in this event when it's in your own county and I was able to get off to a good start through playing solid today," said the 22-year-old Stirling University student.

Scottish Boys' champion Forrest, bidding to emulate the national double David Law completed when winning this event 12 months ago, had three birdies and one bogey as he accounted for Murcar's Anthony Bews by 4 and 3.

"I lost to (eventual runner-up] Paul O'Hara in the first round on my debut in the event last year so it's nice to get through this one," said the Craigielaw 17-year-old.

Allyn Dick, the Lothians champion from Kingsknowe, was also pleased with the way he played in winning by 2 and 1 against Turnberry's David Strachan.

"I changed my driver after the Amateur Championship at Muirfield (a month ago]," said the 31-year-old, who received a timely boost coming into the event with a third SGU Order of Merit success in the Newlands Trophy at Lanark.

"I lifted one off the rack and, though that in theory (in an era of custom-fitting] shouldn't work, it is for me as my driving was very solid out there." Dick also faced an all- Lothians clash today against Danny Kay, the Dunbar teenager who showed his liking for match play in last year's Scottish Boys' Championship at Royal Aberdeen.

Cameron Marr, the rising star at Musselburgh, also chalked up a good win in the first quarter, as did Longniddry's Michael Bacigalupo, Forrest's clubmate Shaun Deegan and Sean McGarvey, the Glencorse man digging deep to account for Andrew Campbell of Dumbarton on the last green.

However, two-time Gullane junior champion Mark Dickson bowed out early in the day, as did Tom Blennerhassett, the 2008 Lothians Boys' champion from Dalmahoy, Mortonhall's Greg Nicolson and Ross Noon of Craigielaw.

Both Nicholson and Noon took their matches all the way before surrendering to Mark Bookless, a former Scottish Boys' Stroke Play champion, and Bell, this year's Scottish Champion of Champions winner, respectively.

Making his debut in the event, Simon Fairburn, the Lothians Boys' champion for the last two years, was four-under for the back nine - he had an eagle-3 at the 12th - as he also eased into the second round.

In the second quarter of the draw, Kingsknowe's Greg Richards, Stephen Simants of Dunbar, Scott Carmichael from Baberton and Swanston New's Malcolm Campbell all progressed, the latter bouncing back to form in the nick of time to account for Cowglen's Chris Wedgeworth.

"I had a shocking couple of weeks and that knocked my confidence coming in here, but I did some work with my coach, Stuart Campbell, and that has really helped," said the left-hander.

Duddingston's David Miller, whose 7 and 6 success over James Hendrick of Pollok was one of the biggest wins of the day, and Myles Cunningham of Craigielaw progressed as well in the second quarter.

Cunningham, who was two-under in beating Craigie Hill's David Logie, only started playing again recently after falling out of love with the game for a spell. "I wasn't enjoying it so stopped playing," he said. "Some of my friends encouraged me to start again and I'm slowly getting back into it."

While defeats late in the day in the third quarter for Cunningham's clubmate, Martin Stein and Murrayfield senior Derek Miller were not unexpected, the same couldn't be said of the exits made by Royal Burgess duo James Ross and Stephen Buckley.

Ross will be bitterly disappointed with his 5 and 4 defeat at the hands of Fifer Jordan McColl

And Buckley couldn't have been happier either with his last-hole defeat to 15-year-old Alasdair McDougall, though, in fairness, the Elderslie youngster did perform excel after gaining a late entry.