Bruntsfield are in seventh heaven as title bid grows BRUNTSFIELD Links are shaping up as strong contenders for this season's Edinburgh Summer League title - won for the last five years by neighbours Royal Burgess. The Davidson's Mains men made it four wins out of four in the Pollock (Scotrans) Ltd-sponsored event with a thumping 7-1 victory over Turnhouse. Team manager Dougie Livingstone said he was "delighted" with both this latest result and also his side's start to the campaign. Newly-crowned club champion Kevin Cattanach led the way with a one-hole win over Neil Sneddon while others to deliver points for the home side included Ross Brydon and Alan Anderson. Teenager Brydon claimed a notable scalp by beating Steven Armstrong and Lothians champion Anderson recovered from three down at the turn. "Alan wasn't happy playing in his white team shirt so he put on his "lucky" black top, which obviously did the trick," reported Livingstone. Next up for the Bruntsfield boys, who now lead Turnhouse by a point in Section B and also have a game in hand, is a "tricky" away fixture at Craigmillar Park. Not that Craigmillar Park will be heading into that encounter with too much confidence, having lost at home to Turnhouse then going down at the Merchants in their last two outings. "Our match against Turnhouse was very close and could have gone either way," said Craigmillar Park's David Walker of the former while Merchants counterpart Mike Leitch hailed a "battling performance" in the latter. "After getting off to a great start, the last three matches bringing home the required points our first win of the season," added Leitch. Silverknowes suffered their first defeat of the campaign in Section A, losing 6-2 at Dalmahoy, last year's beaten finalists. Those two teams are still occupying the top spots in the group but, after opening with back-to-back defeats, Royal Burgess are starting to build up a head of steam. They had a "reasonably comfortable" 6.5.-1.5 win at home to Prestonfield and now face crunch trips to Duddingston and Silverknowes. "These will be season-defining matches and we have to try and get something from both matches to keep our hopes of a sixth consecutive title alive," admitted team manager Richard Hughes. In Section C, Royal Musselburgh lost the top three matches against Kingsknowe but rallied to make home advantage count. "Hugely disappointing," declared visiting team manager Bill Buchan. Broomieknowe recorded the week's biggest win, making home advantage count to crush Torphin Hill 8-0 in Section C. "Two fantastic home displays this season have seen large victories," said Broomieknowe's Scott Porter. If we could just take some of that form on the road then we may be contenders in our group. Section A Dalmahoy 6, Silverknowes 2: C Brown lost to K Reilly 5 and 4; S Smith bt G Robertson 6 and 5; G Johnston bt T Caldwell 2 and 1; C Laird lost to P Heggie 4 and 3; M Knox bt C Scott 5 and 4; D Brown bt I Doig 5 and 4; J Rooney bt M Patterson 5 and 4; S Murray bt K Alexander 4 and 3. Royal Burgess 6.5, Prestonfield 1.5: full details not reported. Silverknowes 4 3 0 1 19.5 12.5 6 Dalmahoy 4 2 1 1 18 14 5 Royal Burgess 4 2 0 2 18 14 4 Duddingston 3 2 0 1 11.5 12.5 4 Prestonfield 3 0 2 1 9.5 14.5 2 Liberton 4 0 1 3 11.5 20.5 1 Section B Bruntsfield Links 7, Turnhouse 1: K Cattanach bt N Sneddon one hole; S McLaren bt D Black 4 and 3; M Kernaghan bt E Gordon 4 and 3; R Brydon bt S Armstrong one hole; D Livingstone lost to T Cadger 3 and 2; D Wallace bt O McCrone one hole; A Anderson bt A Young 2 and 1; D Donaldson bt N Anderson 6 and 5. Craigmillar Park 3.5, Turnhouse 4.5: A Robertson lost to N Sneddon one hole; I Christie bt S Armstrong 3 and 2; J Robertson lost to L Gordon 8 and 6; B Mackay halved with A Young; G Lewington lost to T Cadger 4 and 2; P Mackay halved with O McCrone; I Rooney halved with D Imrie; A Williamson bt D Gillespie 2 and 1. Merchants 5, Craigmillar Park 3: R Craig bt I Christie 2 and 1; A Hlem bt P MacKay 6 and 5; D Montgomery lost to V Gunnarsson two holes; K Kerr lost to C Williamson 2 and 1; M Leitch lost to B Mackay 3 and 2; D Gladwin bt B Davies 3 and 2; A George bt H Clark 5 and 4; A Brown bt N Dewar 2 and 1. Bruntsfield Links 4 4 0 0 24.5 7.5 8 Turnhouse 5 3 1 1 20.5 19.5 7 Musselburgh 5 1 2 2 19.5 20.5 4 Ratho Park 4 1 1 2 15 17 3 Merchants 4 1 1 2 12 20 3 Craigmillar Park 4 0 1 3 12.5 19.5 1 Section C Royal Musselburgh 5, Kingsknowe 3: A Brown lost to A Dick 4 and 3; S Blair lost to S McCulloch 5 and 4; D Glass lost to S McNaughton 5 and 4; C Johnstone bt G Fraser 4 and 3; L Shepherd bt A Rowe 7 and 6; S Cunningham bt F Donaldson 4 and 3; C Ratcliffe bt D Morton 6 and 5; K Fee bt M Cairnie 2 and 1. Broomieknowe 8, Torphin Hill 0: A Sim bt S Crombie 7 and 6; S Reid bt T O'Connor one hole; K Hastings bt B Schumacher 6 and 4; J McIntosh bt B Forbes 7 and 6; S Marc bt S Bickmore 7 and 6 C Bouner bt M Holligan 5 and 4; A McLean bt W Wildgoose 3 and 2; K Lunn bt A Herriot 4 and 3. Glencorse 3 3 0 0 15.5 8.5 6 Royal Musselburgh 5 2 1 2 18 22 5 Kingsknowe 4 2 0 2 18 14 4 Baberton 4 2 0 2 16 16 4 Broomieknowe 3 1 0 2 13 11 2 Torphin Hill 3 0 1 2 7.5 16.5 1 Section D West Linton 4 4 0 0 29 3 8 Mortonhall 4 3 0 1 17 15 6 Swanston New 4 2 0 2 13.5 18.5 4 Newbattle 4 1 1 2 13.5 18.5 3 Murrayfield 4 1 1 2 12.5 19.5 3 Lothianburn 4 0 0 4 10.5 21.5 0