Cameron comes good for a share of glory
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FORTROSE and Rosemarkie champion golfer Alan Cameron bettered his previous four outings on the North Scottish Golfer’s Alliance winter schedule with a share of first place at Inverness’s municipal Torvean course.
With excellent conditions the par of 69 was broken by two shots by a trio of golfers. Boat of Garten professional Ross Harrower shared the leading prize voucher with a two-under-par card of 67 with amateurs, Alan Cameron and John Campbell (Grantown on Spey). Harrower compiled an outward half of 32, one better than the amateurs who left it to the final nine to draw level.
Cameron achieved his 67 with a birdie at the finishing hole for his best finish of the season while Campbell, after a share of first place at Boat of Garten last November, took a bogey five on the 18th which cost him an outright win. However the Grantown member did improve his six round aggregate score by five shots.
In the K M Cameron Trophy competition, Cameron got to within one of the mandatory six scores and with the next two fixtures played over familiar Ross-shire venues, his home course followed by Muir of Ord, he has the opportunity to make up ground on the leader Bryan Fotheringham, who at Torvean returned a 73.
Other scores from Fortrose & Rosemarkie included — Scott Chisholm 74, Lewis Reid 75, Willie Donnelly 75, Ken Williamson 77 and from Muir of Ord, Alan Imrie 77.
The leading nett score in the Class 1 Category was returned by Dave Johnston (Moray), a nett 66 off five, one better than Duncan McGruther (Inverness). Local member Mike Lyall got his fifth score of the season recorded for the Class 2 aggregate handicap trophy and his winning best of the day, nett 60, off 13, lifts him into the mix for the Billy McQuillan Trophy.
The previous week’s Spey Bay abandoned fixture has been rescheduled for Februray 22 and the November Forres fixture postponed due to frost will now be played on March 15.
Leading Scratch scores at Torvean:
67 R A L Cameron (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), J S D Campbell (Grantown), R Harrower (Pro)(Boat of Garten);
70 J A Grant (Grantown), G H Hay (Grantown);
71 D Johnston (Moray);
72 B J Thomson (Torvean), K Mackay (Inverness), G Mackenzie (Moray);
73 D McGrouther (Inverness), M Lyall (Torvean), G A Hay (Pro)(Nairn Dunbar), B Fotheringham (Inverness), J Shaw (Boat of Garten);
74 D D Bunker (Nairn Dunbar), S Chisholm (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), S Dingwall (Grantown), N McWilliam (Elgin), R Stewart (Nairn Dunbar), D F Sharp (Boat of Garten), J Simpson (Forres);
75 L Reid (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), J Wright (Forres), W Donnelly (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), S Mullen (Elgin), W R Duncan (Moray), D Joel (Inverness), R Fraser (Inverness);
76 D Gordon (Inverness), G Allan (Nairn Dunbar), I Murray (Boat of Garten);
77 S Wilson (Inverness), K Williamson (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), J Treasurer (Inverness), D Hector (Elgin), A Imrie (Muir of Ord);
78 D Pitchforth (Nairn Dunbar), P Matheson (Grantown), A W Mair (Moray), G Hamilton (Moray);
79 W B Johnston (Moray), J K England (Moray), A Macintosh (Torvean), R H Stewart (Torvean);
80 J Glass (Torvean), A Waterson (Boat of Garten), R Mackie (Rothes);
Handicap Section 1 (7 and under)
66 D Johnston (Moray)(5);
67 D McGrouther (Inverness)(6);
69 W R Duncan (Moray)(6), D F Sharp (Boat of Garten)(5), G Mackenzie (Moray)(3);
Handicap Section Two (8 to 14)
60 M Lyall (Torvean)(13);
69 W B Johnston (Moray)(10), G Hamilton (Moray)(9);
70 C Small (Nairn)(12);
71 I Turner (Boat of Garten)(14), R Mackie (Rothes)(9);
North Golf Alliance at Wick
From a small entry of only 26 which produced three excellent scores an the inward half count back separated the three way scratch tie on 70 in the North Golf Alliance fixture at Wick last Sunday.
The players involved in the inward nine hole count were two local members, Gordon Steven and John Hunter and the furthest travelled, John Forbes (Muir of Ord). Hunter, the former Wick Club Captain, led the trio through through half way mark with a one under par count of 34, birdies at the first and 7th holes and one bogey after a careless short missed putt on the par three ninth green. Forbes did not deviate from par in his outward count of 35 and Gordon a one over 36.
Hunter began his inward half as he began his outward with a birdie three to get to two under par before his putter let him down on the 12th and 15th greens and a third bogey on the 16th hole resulted in an inward count of 36 for his gross 70. Forbes repeated his first nine hole count of 35 with his first bogey of the day at the tenth followed by a bogey four at the short eleventh. One stroke was recovered with his only birdie two holes later to end up in second place behind Steven.
Local member Steven recorded his second win of the season when he added a level par 34 to his outward 36. His only inward half blemish came at the final hole when after picking up a birdie three at the 15th he rounded off with a disappointing bogey five. .His club mate Hunter, a six handicapper enjoyed the consolation of an eight shot nett win in the Class 1 handicap section ahead of the Ross- shire pair, Davie Mackay (Tarbat) and Billy Ferries (Tain).
Tain’s Caithness based scratch golfer, Dougie Thorburn, found himself out of the scratch race after seven holes when he missed the fairway and could not find his plugged ball in the rough taking a triple bogey seven but his gross 73 and nett 73 earned him a fourth handicap prize.
Thurso’s Stanley Ross escaped a handicap cut after his Class 2 section win at the last fixture in Tain but will most likely come under the Secretary’s knife for a repeat sub par score last Sunday. H e had a runaway eight shot win in the Class 2 section after his gross 75 reduced to nett 65. Reay’s Pete McCartney grossed 86 for nett 73 and second place while Alister Gunn (Reay) improved from his fourth place at Tain to third at Wick with nett 74, a stroke in front of Pat Ballantyne (Thurso).
Wick Alliance Results. Scratch – 70 G Steven (Wick) (36/34), J Forbes (Muir of Ord) 35/35), J Hunter (Wick) (34/36). 73 D Thorburn (Tain) (36/37). 74 B Ferries (Tain) (38/36). Handicap Class 1 – J Hunter (Wick) (6) 64. D H Mackay (Tarbat) (8) 72. B Ferries (Tain) (2) 72. D Thorburn (Tain) (0) 73. Class 2 – S Ross (Thurso) (10) 65. P McCartney (Reay) (13) 73. A Gunn (Reay) (10) 74, P Ballantyne (Thurso) (10) 75.
