St. Andrews Links Trophy: McNicoll wins in thriller

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (June 8, 2008)--Keir McNicoll, two years removed from a crushing defeat at the St. Andrews Links Trophy, won the same event in dramatic fashion with by rolling in a 10-foot birdie putt on the famed 18th hole to take a one-stroke victory. He finished 67-71-77-68--283, 5-under-par. “It’s unbelievable, but I just had a feeling coming over in the car from Carnoustie this morning that it was going to be my day today,” McNicoll told the UK's Courier. “I learned a lot from what happened two years ago and I knew how to handle myself this time." The putt avoided a three-way playoff between McNicoll and former Scottish Boys Champ Michael Stewart and France's Rudy Thuillier. The 24-year-old McNicoll trailed Thuillier, a part-time ski instructor who was an unknown coming into the tourney, by four strokes with 14 to play, but was able close the gap with some outstanding play. Adding more drama to the events was a late charge put on by Stewart, who birdied the famous Road Hole then holed out an eagle from the Valley of Sin on 18 to grab a share of second.