Thirteenth West Lothian Masters will be lucky for someone

Jul 28 2011 West Lothian Courier

THIRTEEN will be lucky for someone this year as the 13th West Lothian Masters swings into its week long action on Monday with holder Gary Smith of Linlithgow set to defend the £1000 title as the No 1 seed in a field that is 238 strong.
Smith is joined on the seed list by a galaxy of star West Lothian names in the shape of: No 2 Grant Logan (Kirkliston), No 3 John Aitken (Kirkliston), No 4 Neil Speirs (Kirkliston), No 5 Andrew Dunnett (Queensferry), No 6 Ewan Shearer (Bo'ness), No 7 George Sneddon (Broxburn), No 8 Thomas Mann (Newbridge), No 9 Raymond Logan (Kirkliston), No 10 Mark Allison (Broxburn), No 11 Bryan Cooper (Bathgate), No 12 Sandy McDougall (Glenmavis), No 13 Frazer Muirhead (Uphall Station), No 14 Alec Allan (Newbridge), No 15 Drew Paterson (Newbridge), No 16 Graeme Byrne (Linlithgow).
The supporting field is exceptionally strong in depth and quality so a few shocks could be in store as the Masters progresses to its final days play at Linlithgow a week on Sunday.
Whilst a case can be made out for many in the quest to be fitted out with the signature Green Jacket of the Masters it may be interesting to follow the progress of Kirkliston brothers Grant and Greg Logan.
Grant has won the Masters title on two occasions so can cope with the demanding schedule of the event and he continues to be a player of international status capable of coping with the pressures of the big occasion.
Greg is a dark horse with limited exposure due to his concentration on pursuing a successful junior football career as a goalkeeper but he has now turned his focus to bowls and Colin Stein gave him his debut as a Hamilton Trophy player this season.
He has all the natural talent associated with the Logan dynasty and with an exciting future being predicted for him in Kirkliston circles the testing nature of the Masters is his chance to further showcase his skills, fitness, and fiercely competitive spirit.
The Logan challenge in the Masters is also boosted by the presence of Gordon, Raymond, and Scott.
Meanwhile the third round action of the White Knights sponsored WLBA Top Ten Championship played on Monday night saw defending champions Kirkliston march into the semi finals with a 6-2 win at home to Armadale.
Kirkliston — also the reigning national champions — will next play Buchan Park who progressed with a 6-2 home win over the Deans.
Newbridge beat Glenmavis 6-2 and the fourth win of the round saw Pumpherston triumph on shot margin against Harrysmuir.
Play in the second round of the BARBQ sponsored WLBA Top Five Singles championship saw Newbridge follow up their win over holders Kirkliston with an impressive 3-1 success away to Broxburn.
They will now be at home to a Linlithgow team that crushed Kinneil 5-0 while the other results were: Winchburgh 1 Bathgate 3; Buchan Park 4 Bo'ness 1; Blackburn 3 Bankton Mains 2; Seafield 4 Whitburn 1; Ratho 3 Uphall Station 2; Letham 0 Philpstoun 5.
West Lothian's challenge for the Matt Purdie Trophy (Seniors) remains alive and kicking after scoring a 63-45 win over Edinburgh and Leith at Kirkliston on Monday.
The major contributor was Broxburn's Tommy Turnbull who skipped John Collins Joe McLelland and Gordon Kain to a whopping 20-6 win over David Lees while Lawson Trotter Ian Drysdale Gordon Scott and Kenny Ferguson added an 18-12 win over Archie Davidson.
The rink of Norrie Engelen Phil Young Ritchie Templeton and Hugh Marshall fought out a 13-13 battle with BJ Smith while John Wynne Charlie Houston Jimmy Davidson and Gordon Logan lost 14-12 to Ian Combe.
It is an intriguing league table after four games played with West Fife, West Lothian, East Lothian, and Edinburgh & Leith all joint equal with four-points each.