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| Reigning World Champion Books Return Trip To Carnoustie |
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REIGNING WORLD CHAMPION BOOKS RETURN TRIP TO CARNOUSTIE Reigning International Pairs world champion John Maxwell will be back to defend his title next year after he and partner Steven Hunter were crowned 2008 Scottish champions at the competition’s UK Final at Carnoustie. Maxwell won the title with Stephen Brown at the famous Angus venue last year and followed that up last month by claiming the 2008 International Pairs world title after initial winners Deen Graves and Martyn Ashcroft were disqualified for a breach of the rules. Hunter, who plays off scratch, stepped into Brown’s shoes to partner Maxwell at this year’s UK event and the pair, from Bonnybridge Golf Club, Falkirk, will be heading back to Carnoustie in 12 months’ time for next year’s world final after being the only Scottish pair to qualify for the UK Final. “Carnoustie is a fantastic golf course and it will be a great privilege to come back here next year to represent Scotland again as a world champion,” said Maxwell, who plays off four. “Winning the International Pairs world title is the best experience I have ever had on the golf course and I’m hoping we can replicate it in 12 months’ time.” Maxwell and Hunter’s only disappointment was that they did not perform better in the UK Final of the world’s largest competition of its kind for club golfers after scoring 70 Stableford points in the 36-hole event - 12 behind eventual winners Alan McNichol and Richard Barnes. Keswick duo McNichol and Barnes put a series of calamitous mishaps off the course behind them to claim an unexpected victory by one point in the tournament - which was played off three-quarter handicaps over Carnoustie’s Burnside and Championship courses. McNichol, who plays off 20, and 13-handicapper Barnes lay three points off the lead after scoring 44 points on the first day, then surged through the field in the second round on the feared Championship Course to finish ahead of Withernsea father and son Steve and Steve Dale Jnr and Laceby Manor’s Craig Gibbon and Scott Templeman by the narrowest of margins. But the Cumbrian pair revealed that they had virtually written off their chances of winning after a disastrous build-up to the second day of the competition - the world’s largest of its kind for club golfers. A black cat had already walked in front of them as they strolled around Carnoustie the evening before the second round, but worse was to follow the next morning as they broke a six-foot mirror and then set off the fire alarm in their bedroom! “We’d already forgotten our jackets for the gala dinner and had to make a hurried shopping trip into Dundee, then we had all this happen,” said Barnes, a social worker. “The mirror just dropped off the inside of the wardrobe door. Alan then decided to do iron his trousers in our room while I was having a shower and a mixture of the steam from the bathroom and the iron set the alarm off. There was chaos. “It’s a miracle we made it out on to the course at all but thankfully we were able to put all that behind us. We played really well and then got a bit of luck on the last when Alan’s putt did a lap of honour before dropping in the hole.” The pair will join Maxwell and Hunter at the 2009 International Pairs World Final and McNichol, who is a steward at Keswick Golf Club, added: “We had never played any links courses in Scotland before this and our victory is all remarkable as our course doesn’t have any bunkers and we didn’t quite know what to do when we went in them. “To get the chance to play at Carnoustie is a dream come true and to have the chance to come back here exceeds all our expectations.” Dale and his son also qualified for Carnoustie after they were declared runners-up and English champions on countback from overnight leaders Gibbon and Templeman - who missed out on possible glory after double bogeying the notorious 18th hole. And a magnificent birdie three at the 468-yard par four 14th helped Cottrell Park pair Steve Wood and Rhodri Davies complete the list of national champions and claim the Welsh title with 79 points. Ross Honey, chairman of International Pairs, said: “Yet again, Carnoustie provided a great test and setting for such a closely fought competition. “It never ceases to amaze me the standard of golf that is produced under such pressure and on one of the hardest courses in the world and the event was played in the true spirit of the game. “This has been another fantastic 12 months for International Pairs, the competition will be played in more than 50 countries next year and it is growing all the time.” Around 20,000 players took part in this year’s UK competition with 40 lucky pairs travelling to Carnoustie from across the UK after qualifying from semi-finals held at Ladybank, Blairgowrie, Monifieth, Letham Grange and The Players Club. To enter International Pairs, play in the winter or summer match play events or to register a club, please call 01489 878509, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Alternatively, visit the Pairs’ website at www.internationalpairs.com. Ends 2008 INTERNATIONAL PAIRS UK FINAL RESULT 1.) Alan McNichol and Richard Barnes (Keswick) - 82 points (UK champions) 2.) Steve Dale and Steve Dale Jnr (Withernsea) - 81 points (second on countback - English champions) 3.) Craig Gibbon and Scott Templeman (Laceby Manor) - 81 points Welsh champions Steve Wood and Rhodri Davies (Cottrell Park) - 79 points Scottish champions John Maxwell and Steven Hunter (Bonnybridge) - 70 points |
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