Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Golf: Liam Hadden one of eight men through to Evening Express Champion of Champions handicap quarter-finals

Bon Accord's Liam Hadden, who has progressed in the Evening Express Champion of Champions handicap tournament.
Bon Accord's Liam Hadden, who has progressed in the Evening Express Champion of Champions handicap tournament.

Graham Smith experienced the highs and lows of matchplay golf in the Evening Express Champion of Champions handicap tournament.

Just days after ousting title-holder Kenny Harper by 5&4, Portlethen member Graham was beaten himself.

Graham lost to Bon Accord’s Liam Hadden by one hole at the Kings Links.

Six-handicapper Graham said: “I probably played my best golf of the season against Kenny. The standard was good from both of us and I was about four-under-par when the match ended.

“But that winning feeling was short-lived as I lost to Liam, who played well in our fourth-round match at the Kings Links.”

Liam, who defeated Rod Phillips by 2&1 at Craibstone in the previous round, said: “There was very little between Graham and I and the match really could have gone either way.

“Graham had not played the Kings Links since it changed and home advantage was definitely a major factor for me.

Five-handicapper Liam now faces Marine member Graeme Innes at Fraserburgh.

“I haven’t played at the Broch before,” said Liam, “but I have a pal who lives nearby, so I’ll try to get a round in beforehand and get an understanding of the course.”

Graham Smith, of Portlethen Golf Club, is out.

Insch member Kenny admitted he had enjoyed his spell as champion, which was extended due a barren season of competitive golf last season due to Covid.

Kenny, who plays off three, said: “All good things must come to an end and I’ve enjoyed all my matches, even the defeat by Graham at Portlethen.

“It’s a great competition to meet other guys and playing away games really takes you out of your comfort zone.”

EVENING EXPRESS CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS HANDICAP SECTION

ROUND THREE RESULTS

Andrew Findlay (10) Caledonian bt Ian Lowrie (3) Strathlene 2&1. Graham Smith (6) Portlethen bt Kenny Harper (3) Defending champion 5&4. Calvin Lee-Wright (15) Buckpool bt Steven Fraser (13) Northern 5&4. Fraser Proud (7) Deeside lost to Daryl McGregor (10) Buckpool 4&3. Neil Bremner (1) Kintore lost to Dylan Singer (10) Westhill 2&1.

Bruce Hay (9) Inverurie lost to Michael Laird (15) Keith 5&3. Andrew Cordiner (6) Portlethen lost to John Sangster (13) Alford 4&3. Philip Davie (10) Peterculter scr, Peter Robertson () Westhill wo. Mark Whyte (5) Huntly scr, Gordon Laing (11) Tarland wo. Rod Phillips (14) Craibstone lost to Liam Hadden (5) Bon Accord 2&1. Alistair Donaldson (20) Torphins lost to Iain MacDonald (5) Pecten at the 19th.

Graeme Innes (8) Marine bt Douglas Castell (6) Insch 4&3. Jon Roberts (6) Cruden Bay bt Scott Anderson (12) Craibstone 3&1. Jack O’Halloran (12) Ballater wo, John A Sim () Rosehearty scr. Kevin Murdoch (5) Stonehaven bt  James Flett (2) Insch 4&3. Scott Forsyth (12) Longside bt Douglas Allan (7) Longside 3&2.

ROUND FOUR

Calvin Lee-Wright (15) Buckpool lost to Michael Laird (15) Keith 1 hole. Andrew Findlay (10) Caledonian bt Gordon Laing (11) Tarland 3&2. Jack O’Halloran (12) Ballater lost to Graeme Innes (8) Marine 4&2. Iain MacDonald (5) Pecten lost to Daryl McGregor (10) Buckpool 5&3. Jon Roberts (6) Cruden Bay bt Scott Forsyth (12) Longside 2 holes. Liam Hadden (5) Bon Accord bt Graham Smith (6) Portlethen 1 hole. Peter Robertson (16) Westhill scr, Dylan Singer (5) Westhill wo. Kevin Murdoch (5) Stonehaven lost to John Sangster (13) Alford 2&1.

QUARTER-FINALS (to be played by August 2)

Michael Laird (15) Keith v Daryl McGregor (10) Buckpool.

John Sangster (13) Alford v Dylan Singer (5) Westhill.

Graeme Innes (8) Marine v Liam Hadden (5) Bon Accord.

Jon Roberts (6) Cruden Bay v Andrew Findlay (10) Caledonian.

Defending champions Newmachar fail to reach Pennant League quarter-finals

Two Aberdeen Pennant League quarter-finals will be staged tonight when Banchory entertain Stonehaven, while Portlethen will host Deeside.

Newmachar are a shock omission from the last eight.

The defending champions failed to qualify, despite eight teams making the knock-out stages for the first time.

The introduction of the quarter-finals came in a bid to reinvigorate the tournament, but Newmachar could only finish fourth in League C after just one win and three defeats. .

The three league winners – Portlethen, Murcar Links and Royal Aberdeen plus best overall runner-up Banchory – have all been rewarded with home draws.

Royal Aberdeen, the runners-up when the competition was last played two years ago, will entertain Hazlehead on Thursday.

Portlethen and Maitland Shield winners Murcar Links, who face Bon Accord on Friday, were the only teams to qualify with a 100% record after four straight victories.

Bon Accord, Deeside, Hazlehead and Stonehaven were the four teams to take advantage of the the new qualification changes.

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE

LEAGUE A

Nigg Bay 4, Caledonian 1. Stonehaven 3, Royal Aberdeen 2. Deeside 5, Stonehaven 0. Nigg Bay 2, Royal Aberdeen 3. Caledonian 2, Deeside 3. Stonehaven 3, Nigg Bay 2. Caledonian 2, Stonehaven 3. Royal Aberdeen 5, Deeside 0. Deeside 4, Nigg Bay 1. Royal Aberdeen 5, Caledonian 0.

LEAGUE B

Auchmill 0, Portlethen 5. Bon Accord 4, Craibstone 1. Northern 5, Auchmill 0. Portlethen 4, Bon Accord 1. Portlethen 4.5, Craibstone 0.5. Bon Accord 2.5, Northern 2.5. Craibstone 5, Auchmill 0. Northern 1, Portlethen 4. Craibstone 3, Northern 2. Auchmill 0, Bon Accord 5.

LEAGUE C

Newmachar 1, Murcar Links 4. Hazlehead 5, Peterculter 0. Murcar Links 3.5, Banchory 1.5. Banchory 4, Newmachar 1. Murcar Links 3, Hazlehead 2. Banchory 4, Hazlehead 1. Newmachar 4, Peterculter 1. Peterculter 2, Banchory 3. Hazlehead 4, Newmachar 1. Peterculter 0, Murcar Links 5.

JULY

Tonight – Banchory v Stonehaven. Portlethen v Deeside.

22 – Royal Aberdeen v Hazlehead.

23 – Murcar Links v Bon Accord.

AUGUST

8 – Semi-finals at Royal Aberdeen (12.04pm) and Kings Links (12.02pm).

SEPTEMBER

12 – Final at Nigg Bay (12.02pm).

Bobby’s 44 stableford points more than enough to claim seniors meeting

Bobby Baxter won the North East Scotland Seniors Golf Association meeting over the Pines course at Hazlehead.

Craibstone 19-handicapper Bobby carded 44 Stableford points to win by six shots from home player Jim Garden (12).

Nigg Bay’s Andrew Bothwell (10) was third after losing out on countback on 38 points.

The next meeting is at Inverurie on Friday.

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.