PLAYING more with precision than power, Keith Nicholson avoided a potential banana skin when the first round of the Forth Engineering Lothians Championship was concluded at Longniddry last night.
Returning to the scene of his most recent of three title triumphs in the event, the Haddington star beat Baberton's Paul Ferrier, last year's Scottish Boys' champion, to progress to the last 16.
On greens that were marginally better than the previ
ous evening, Nicholson found himself two down after eight but won the ninth with a birdie and then holed a 12-foot par putt for a half at the next.
Then, moving up a gear, the East Lothian man hit his approach at the 11th to four feet.
He followed that up with a conceded birdie at the next to go in front for the first time in the match.
A bogey at the 14th took the contest back to all square before it was decided by another Nicholson birdie at the 17th, where he holed from 15 feet.
"There were times when the distance between us off the tee was the length of the car park but the key around this course is keeping it in play," said Nicholson, who now takes on Ricky Moffat, the leading qualifier back in 2004 but a man for whom golf has taken a back seat since then.
After beating Pumpherston's Ross Burnside by 3 and 2, the Dundas Parks man said: "My golf went on a bit of a slide after I started up my own electrical business. But I joined Leven earlier this year and it is good to get back into playing competitive golf."
With his dad David, the long-serving professional at North Berwick, on his bag, Oliver Huish made a winning debut in the event against Craigmillar Park's Richard Gill.
After making a great up and down from through the back of the green for a half at the 13th, Huish, a 17-year-old who is set to leave North Berwick High School in a few weeks' time, played a get out of jail card when he also scraped a half at the next.
Gill, who lost in the final of the Scottish Boys' Championship in 2001, paid the price for straying out of bounds as he then fell behind at the 17th, and Huish did well to close the door on his opponent by saving par from off the green at the last. Praising his caddie, Huish said: "When you think of the experience he has, it is always helpful to have someone like that at your side." Huish now faces Scott Reid, who joined his Broomieknowe clubmates Kevin Hastings and Jamie McIntosh in the second round after coming back from two down with four to play to beat Haddington's Steven Lamb.
Hopes of a host victory, meanwhile, were dashed when Myles Cunningham came up against a possible darkhorse this week in Chris Orr, who has just joined Craigielaw this year.
Originally from Lanarkshire, Orr, who plays off plus two, moved to Dalkeith 18 months ago and is currently sitting his chartered accountancy professional exams. His golf was very steady indeed as he beat Cunningham by 2 and 1, and Orr now meets one of his new clubmates, Martin Stein, who bounced back from being three down after six to beat Ratho Park's Neil Sneddon.
Left to fly the flag for Bruntsfield Links following Alan Anderson's exit the previous night, Ally Ritchie drove the ball well all night as he beat Harburn's Stuart Boyle. He now faces Harburn's Brian Watson, who was helped by an excellent birdie-2 at the 16th as he beat Derek Malone of Kingsknowe.
The full article contains 623 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
