Black Isle champion golfer flies with eagles
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FORTROSE and Rosemarkie Golf Course built on the Black Isle’s Chanonry Point peninsula is popular with both golfers and dolphin spotters — but could be in line for an invasion of ornithologists after the club’s champion golfer, Allan Cameron, sighted a rare eagle during a July medal round.
But Allan’s eagle was not a magnificent Scottish bird of prey but a golfing eagle, the term given to a golf score of two under par.
Allan was persuaded to submit his medal round card into a Scottish national newspaper’s golf competition entitled "Where Eagles Dare" and when telling the newspaper that his eagle landed on the 16th green just in front of his family Fortrose home, the entry was judged the best for the month of July by event organisers, The Scottish Sunday Mail.
His end of season prize was an invitation to the finals played over the acclaimed Sam Torrance designed St Andrews Bay golf course with an overnight stay for himself and wife Karen in the luxury Fairmont Hotel next to the course. Against 11 other eagle achievers, the Fortrose and Ross-shire champion golfer beat them with a score of 31 stableford points to win the main prize of a set of top-of-the-range Yonex Ezone custom fit irons valued at £800 and supplied by co-sponsors American Golf Discount Stores. To help Karen and Allan celebrate he also won a bottle of champagne in the long driving competition.
Cameron’s triumph at St Andrews Bay ended a marvellous summer season for him and he said afterwards: "Since turning 40 this year I have applied myself to improving my game with the help of Nairn Dunbar professional David Torrance. I am delighted to have won the ‘Where Eagles Dare’ competition and hopefully my success will gave some publicity to my club because Fortrose and Rosemarkie is a special place."
North Scottish Golfers Alliance
JUST a week after his national triumph, Fortrose and Rosemarkie’s Alan Cameron with halves of 37 and 31 for a two under par card of 68 won his second North Scottish Golfers’ Alliance fixture of the season over the Forres course last Saturday.
Cameron, the Ross-shire County champion, had a shining card of six birdies, three on each half, but while he missed the two par threes on the outward half, the 5th and 7th holes and made a double bogey six early in his round his inward half was faultless with three birdies at the 14th, 16th and 18th holes.
The field had its biggest entry in three years, 105, and Cameron led them by two shots. In joint second place were the Alliance champion Bryan Fotheringham (Inverness) and Robbie Stewart (Torvean).
The winner’s clubmate Robbie Mackay grossed 74 and the ever consistent Fortrose pair, Willie Donnelly Jnr (nett 68), Dave Spence (nett 70) once more featured in the class two handicap group.
The North Golf Alliance fixture on Sunday is at Tain and members are reminded that if they wish to play in the Christmas three ball team event at Brora on December 16 they must play in this fixture or the next at Golspie on Sunday, December 2.
Forres Leading scratch scores — 68 R A L Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie); 70 B R Fotheringham (Inverness), R H Stewart (Torvean); 71 J A Grant (Grantown); 72 A G Rollo (professional) (Moray); 73 S Dingwall (Grantown), D Ramsay (Elgin), D F Sharp (Boat of Garten); 74 G Mackenzie (Moray), B Cruickshank (Spey Bay), K Thomson (Moray), A W Mair (Moray), W Hutchison (Inverness), R Mackay (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), S Johnston (Elgin), S Chisholm (Nairn), K Barnett (Torvean), M Lyall (Torvean); 75 J R Ingram (Boat of Garten), A Henry (Inverness), P Masson (Rothes); 76 W J Donnelly (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), J A G Innes (Elgin), G Donaldson (Elgin), A Thomson (Pro) (Moray).
Handicap Section One (7 and under) — R H Stewart (Torvean)(3) 67; W Hutchison (Inverness) (6), D F Sharp (Boat of Garten) (5) 68; A Henry (Inverness) (6), P Masson (Rothes) (6) 69.
Handicap Section Two (8 to 14) — M Lyall (Torvean) (11) 63; G Shanks (Elgin) (12) 66; W J Donnelly (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) (8) 68. F Hutchison (Inverness) (9), L Hutchison (Inverness) (14), D Spence (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) (14), R G McPherson (Moray) (9) 70.
