Bartlett shows her class at Elgin golf tourney
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ROYAL Dornoch’s lady club champion, Alison Bartlett has been leaving her mark on the Scottish senior women’s golf circuit since moving into the county in 2008 and settling in Dornoch.
Two years after arriving in Dornoch and becoming an eligible senior golfer she won the Scottish Women’s senior strokeplay championship at Kemney in Aberdeenshire to establish herself in Scottish senior teams alongside Tain sisters, Anne Ryan and Mary Smith. Last season she captured the Scottish Veteran’s women’s title.
This season she was elected secretary of the Northern Counties Women’s Golfing Association but her administration duties have certainly not affected her play out on the golf course. She became Northern Counties Champion on her home course in May then played for Scotland in the senior home internationals in Ireland.
But two weeks ago, the retired globetrotting chartered accountant who was born in Dundee and has spent fifteen years working in the United States and London, enjoyed her greatest achievement when she won for a second time the Scottish Senior women’s strokeplay championship which was played over Elgin’s Hardhillock golf course. Bartlett then went on to win the matchplay title which followed for the leading sixteen scratch qualifiers and in doing so became only the second person to complete this double feat since the matchplay element was introduced in 2005.
Bartlett’s rounds at Elgin were 75 and 79 for a total of 154 won by two shots over four players one on which included Tain’s Anne Ryan who shot 79 and 77.
North Boys Championship at Tain
In the decades leading up to the millennium change the stature of a club golfer was judged on how he could perform over two rounds of strokeplay away from his home course - but the recent year’s escalation of the sprint 18- hole events seems to have scared the low handicappers away from the 36-hole events.
This was very obvious at Tain and Brora last weekend when the North District staged two of their prestigious 36-hole championship events north of the Kessock Bridge where no local Tain juniors and just one county junior played in the Boy’s Championship at Tain and only three clubs north of Inverness entered teams into the District’s team championship at Brora.
Mind you, by missing the championship at Tain on Saturday the local juniors did stay dry when the cry from the host club for rain was answered and only the current batch of North talent with included the winner coped with the conditions.
Sixteen-year-old Sandy Scott from Nairn, already a member of the Scottish Golf Union’s elite under 16 coaching squad and recently capped at under-16 level for national and school’s teams, won the RPB Bain Trophy and the championship for the first time.
Scott matched Tain’s outward par of 35 with two bogies, the first and ninth and two birdies, the 4th and seventh. His inward 36 was compiled from one birdie, the 12th, and two closing bogies to lead by four from early starter Lee Findlay(Orkney.
Finlay got washed out in the second round rain while in round two Inverness’s Euan Gill was one below par after an outward 34. He got his card to three under par after twelve holes but a score wrecking double bogey seven at the 13th and a bogey at the shortest par four on the course the 346 yard 15th brought him back to level par 70 for second place after Scott added a second round 73.
Inverness’s Keiran Mackay improved from 79 to 73 to take third place on 152 and combing with Gill (146) and club mate siblings, Cameron Franssen (159) and Rory Franssen (164) the quartet from Inverness lifted the Emslie Team Shield for Inverness with a combined total of 621.
North Team Championship at Brora
The low entry theme continued at Brora the following day when Fortrose and Rosemarkie and Tain were the only two Ross-shire clubs to send teams to the District’s Association Team Cup competition played at Brora for the first time.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie were defending the cup they won over their home course last year but their defence attempt came up seven shots short of a high quality Inverness team who will go forward to the Scottish club team finals at Lundin Links in September.
Inverness had the best squad of three in the field where two scores in each round are counted.
Former Scottish internationalist Bryan Fotheringham recent winner of the Inverness Four Day competition stood head and shoulders over the rest with individual scores of 69 and 66 and he was backed up by club champion John Forbes who scored a first round 74 which was discarded but followed up with a counting second round card of 72.
Third team member David Joel had seen success in Spring events at Brora and Golspie and his first round 74 went into the Inverness total. Joel’s second round 75 was discarded leaving Inverness’s winning total at 281, one over par, while Fortrose and Rosemarkie were 288.
Fortrose’s returns came from Alan Cameron’s two cards of 71 and 74, Lewis Reid’s 73 in round one and Chris Gaitten’s level par 70 in round two. Fortrose and Rosemarkie had also entered a second squad of three, James Fraser (79/81), Robbie Mackay (73/78) and Kevin Fowler (78/78) for a four round best total of 307.
Ross and Sutherland Golf Society
SIXTY-TWO members attended the society outing at Alness Golf Club on Wednesday, July 9 taking part in a stableford competition.
The conditions were very good with the sun shining and what with the course being in excellent condition it made for a very enjoyable day.
The results were as follows:
Category 1 — 1 David Lackie (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 34 points; 2 S Smith (Tain) 33; 3 Graham Clark (Muir of Ord).
Category 2 — 1 Peter Clough (Muir of Ord) 40; 2 Nigel Baird (Bonar Bridge/Ardgay) 35; 3 Hugh Steele (Muir of Ord) 34 (BIH).
Category 3 — 1 Arthur Templeton (Bonar Bridge/Ardgay) 34; 2 B Harmon (Strathpeffer) 33; 3 C Arrol (Strathpeffer) 32.
Special thanks to Jim Keith and his team of volunteers for all their efforts in ensuring the members had a very enjoyable and successful day.
The next outing will be to Invergordon Golf Club on Wednesday, July 30 where the members will be playing for the Invergordon Seniors trophy.
Tain Golf Club results
Midsummer (2nd Round) (CSS 72)
Division 1 — 1 G Tonge (6) 65; 2 E Chisholm (12) 67; 3 C Finlayson (11) 69.
Division 2 — 1 K Lawrie (15) 78 BIH; 2 R Porteous (13) 78; 3 B Allison (25) 80.
Centenary Cup Winner — G Tonge.
Beatrice Trophy Winner — F Mackle.
Alness Golf Club
Club Championship
Gents Scratch — Gary Urquhart bt Richard Woods, 18th Hole.
Gents Handicap — Scott Sutherland bt Lewis McCloy, 3 and 2.
Senior Gents — Mike Rogers bt Sam Ferguson, 3 and 2.
Ladies Scratch — Isobel Ross bt Rhoda Patterson, 18th hole.
Ladies Handicap Kate Whythe bt Kay Mackenzie, 5 and 3.
Open Texas Scramble — 1 Conner Hall, Shaun Mackinlay, Campbell Jamieson, Scott Sutherland (3.8) 51.2; 2 Craig Taylor, Donald Sutherland, Gary Urquhart, Gary Ferguson (3.3) 53.7.
Ladies Section
Betty Taylor Memorial Salver — 1 Kay Mackenzie (33) 38 points; 2 Kate Whythe (22) 31.
July Medal
Silver Division — 1 June Keith (16) 67; 2 Rhoda Patterson (10) 69.
Bronze Division — 1 Kay Mackenzie (31) 83; 2 Kate Whythe (22) 83.
Muir of Ord Golf Club
Alex Olsen Trophy and Monthly Medal (CSS 69)
Scratch — D Hexley 69.
Handicap 0-9 — K MacGruer (9) 66; J Stuart (5) 67.
Handicap 10-18 — B Fraser (10) 62; T Cameron (12) 64.
Handicap 19-28 — T Stewart (25) 60; H McFarlane (24) 61.
Ladies Hidden Holes and Extra Medal (CSS 70) — Y Martin (27) 67; F Graham (24) 72 .
Midweek Strokeplay (CSS 68) — S Barlow (13) 63; D Mackay (17) 63; T Nicholson (10) 65; R Fraser (18) 66.
Ladies President’s Day (CSS 70) — F Mckay (19) 70; H Slater (13) 72.
Gents President’s Day (CSS 68) — A Martin (26) 65; T Speirs (20) 66; B Rae (15) 66; M Ross (12) 66.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club
The Gents Black Isle Open (Sponsored by MacGregor Industrial Supplies) takes place on Saturday, July 19. Players go out in groups of three at eight minute intervals. Free lunch for all competitors; 4¾ hours between the start time of each round. If there are any withdrawals or late entries please telephone the golf shop on (01381) 620733. Players from the home club unless otherwise stated. Abbreviations: A Airdrie; AL Alyth; AS Alness; C Clydebank; CR Craigielaw; D Dunblane New; M Moray; MOO Muir of Ord; MU Murcar Links; P Pollok; S St. Andrews New; U Uttoxeter.
7.15am/noon — L Reid, A Cameron, P Cameron; A Brown, S MacKenzie, B Main; S Bassindale, B Nicholson (MOO), J Mann (CR).
7.39am/12.24pm — S Gammie, J. Jack, G. Sands (U); J. Lackie, K. Storey (U), A. MacDonald (S); D. Mellor (U), A. Fraser, C. Harrison.
8.03am/12.48pm — R MacLeman, J Schiller, G Gill; N Strachan (S), J Price, S Murray (U); M MacDonald, J McHenry (A), P Schnier.
8.27am/1.12pm — K Gaittens, K Fowler, A Russell (C); A Gray, A Casey (M), G Fraser; R Carr, M Chubb (A), J Bellshaw.
8.51am/1.36pm — D Mowatt (A), M Strachan (AL), T Coyle (A); C Young, M Fraser (AS), C Fraser; J Fair, C Gaittens, H Barton (D).
9.18am/2.03pm — A Paul, D Penman (N), I T Duff; M Farqhuar, D Douglas, R MacMillan (P); Partner, Partner, Partner.
9.54am/2.39pm — C Stewart (MU), N McKinnon (MU), Partner; A Tait, L MacLeman, Partner; G Moore, B Clough (S), A Cowie (M).
