After a disastrous start, it took all of Cameron's fighting spirit to rescue the tie against current Port Bannatyne title-holder Donald Standaloft, who had romped to a four-up lead by the sixth hole.

Even that early, five-handicapper Cameron was staring defeat in the face after losing the first, fourth, fifth and sixth holes - but to his great credit, he pulled himself together and hit back strongly.

Birdies at the seventh and ninth reduced the leeway to two down at the turn against his three-handicap opponent, who had potentially scored three-under-par 31.

Then, as the golfing gods switched allegiance, it was Standaloft's turn to struggle, with a wayward tee shot at the tenth and an over-hit wedge into the wind at the 11th.

Two pars enabled Cameron to get back on level terms, and a beautifully weighted putt for a birdie two at the 12th put him in the lead for the first time and when he won the 14th in par a stunning comeback was almost complete.

In a grandstand finish Standaloft hit a glorious drive to within 12 feet at the par-four 17th, but just failed with his eagle attempt to keep the game alive; Cameron matched his opponent's birdie to take his first title with a 2 and 1 victory, having covered the last 11 holes of the final in four under par.

Standaloft, who won the title in 2006, had earned his final place with a 7 and 6 win over Richie More in the semis, while Cameron went through after defending champion Gordon Pettigrew withdrew with an ankle injury.

There was also a fighting comeback in the final of the 'wee championship', for the Cuthbertson Cup, when John Girvan (24) recovered from a two-hole deficit for a last green victory over Ian McDougall (18).

Girvan took a crucial lead when he won the 17th in net three and followed up with a superb approach at the 18th to secure his first-ever trophy win.

All finalists produced excellent golf on a course that has recovered remarkably from the problems of the winter thanks to the hard work of greenkeepers Jim Speirs and Joe McCabe.

* Walter McLean and Jim Muldoon were last-game heroes as Port Bannatyne retained the Burnside Cup last Saturday in a rare away win at Kingarth.
With the score locked at 2-2, the pair sealed victory in the annual social match with a two-up success over Phil Matts and Jim Wylie.

Other victors for the Port in a close tussle, with four of the five games going to the eighteenth, were Iain MacLeod and John Preston, who beat David Bryden and John Bunyan 1 up, and Jackie Paterson and Alex Greer, with a win by the same margin over Bobby Speirs and James McAlister.

Ian McDougall and George Cuthbertson secured Bute's first point with a 2 and 1 win over Jimmy Dunn and John Marshall, while John Girvan and Leonard Ferguson's 2 up victory over Andy Williamson and Andy Cormack gave the home club their other success.

* Competition postponements, caused mainly by the condition of the course following the havoc of the winter, have led to alterations to the club's fixture list.

The first round of the Sir Harry Hope Cup will now take place on Saturday, July 12; the McDougall Trophy stableford competition moves to Saturday, July 26; Captain's Day to Saturday, August 16; and the James Lamont Quaich medal round to Saturday, August 23.