Dornoch take honours as Tain golfers miss out

By Robin Wilson

Published: 06:00, 18 May 2013

Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.

Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!

Women’s Northern Counties Champions, Cara Thomson (left) and Barbara Grant (right).

WITH home turf advantage Tain began their challenge to win an eighth Dornoch Firth League title last Saturday morning with a 4.5 to 2.5 winning result over neighbouring Invergordon but when they crashed by the same result to Royal Dornoch in the afternoon they knew that other results would have to go their way to win the Targe for an eighth time.

Against the strongest team in the league that was made up of seven players all with handicaps of three and below Tain lost the first three three games to Royal Dornoch.

Club champion Munro Ferries going under to the Dornoch team captain, Neil Hampton by 3&2, newcomer Dougie Thorburn lost to former Carnegie winner, Alex MacDonald 5&4, and Alan Everett beaten 2&1 by Kevin Matheson. The home team got their first point when Billy Ferries beat Dornoch’s Dean O’Brien after thirteen holes.

Mike Sangster raised a hope with a half point but their only other winner was Ian Cowper who beat Daniel Holden on the 17th green.

By beating Golspie 6-1 in their first game and the Tain result Royal Dornoch carried 10.5 points over into Sunday while Tain’s total was seven. On Sunday morning Tain bounced back when their top four that now included Graeme MacKintosh, replacing Billy Ferries, all won against Brora, Sangster again getting a half point but Ian Cowper the loser as Gary Tonge completed the 5.5 to 1.5 win over Brora to give them a little hope of catching Dornoch.

Royal Dornoch, champions of Dornoch Firth League at Tain, from left to right, Alex MacDonald, David Pearson, Daniel Holden, Neil Hampton, John Shepherd, Kevin Matheson and Neil Munro.

But last season’s winners, Invergordon became the whipping boys on Sunday, Golspie beating them 4-3 in the morning, and in an afternoon of embarrassment all seven Invergordon players failed to win a point in the double header against Brora and Royal Dornoch. Which meant with the Dornoch players beating Brora 4.5 to 2.5 and then each club picking up the full seven points from Invergordon, Royal Dornoch’s final points tally rose to 22 to become and league winners champions for a twelfth year.

The league fixtures in 2014 will return to Brora Golf Club.

Match Results:

Saturday — Tain 4.5, Invergordon 2.5; Golspie 1, Royal Dornoch 6; Royal Dornoch 4.5, Tain 2.5; Brora 3, Golspie 4.

Sunday — Tain 5.5, Brora 1.5; Golspie 4, Invergordon 3; Tain 7, Invergordon 0; Brora 2.5, Royal Dornoch 4.5; Brora 7, Invergordon 0; Royal Dornoch 7, Invergordon 0.

Northern Counties women at Nairn Dunbar.

A SECOND trophy found its way back to Royal Dornoch last Sunday when Cara Thomson regained the Northern Counties Women’s Championship at Nairn Dunbar.

As Cara Gruber, originally from Strathpeffer, she had won the championship on four previous occasions but recently married she collected her first as Cara Thomson when she beat her Dornoch club mate Alison Bartlett in Sunday’s final on the 17th green.

In the Tain verses Royal Dornoch scratch semifinals Thomson two under par and three ahead after eleven went on to win on the 17th green against Tain’s Mary Smith’s par golf and Bartlett recovered from an early three hole deficit by winning five holes on the bounce from the 12th to the 16th for her 2&1 success over Smith’s sister, Anne Ryan.

In the final nothing separated the Dornoch pair over the first eleven ten holes. Bartlet won the opening hole with par and Thomson levelled with birdie at the next and the next eight holes were halved mostly with scrappy par figures. On the 11th green Bartlett saved a half with a long putt but on the next hole she showed her unease on shorter length putts and it would prove to be her downfall.

The Scottish senior internationalist three putted the par three green but won back the next hole to level when Thomson drove out of bounds. The 13th hole was halved in par five and Bartlett should have gone ahead at the next but again missed from three feet. It was a turning point in the tie and from the escape Thomson all but holed her bunker shot at the short 15th hole while Bartlett putting for a wining birdie left her attempt short and missed the next one to go one behind.

The long sixteenth was halved after Bartlett, happier on the longer putts holed from her bunker recovery, but when Thomson missed a putt for the game on the 17th green and the spectators were moving to the final tee for the match to continue the final came to a sudden if not surprising end. Bartlett’s nemesis on the short putts struck again and she missed another for a half allowing Thomson emerge with the Mary Benton Trophy at 2&1.

Tain’s Mary Smith won the prize for the leading scratch qualifier, with a card of 77 the only player to brake 80 over the long Nairn Dunbar test and from the encouraging entry of five teenagers fifteen year old Abbie Cruden from the home club returned the best nett score and then made it through to the handicap semi finals from where Forres member Barbara Grant emerged with the Chetham Trophy beating June Nicol (Inverness) in the final.

Brora Seniors go in defence of Senior Cup

BRORA Golf Club have the unchanged team of Iain Grant. Jim Miller, Ronnie Sim and Robin Wilson when they travel to defend the B D Fraser Senior Northern Counties Cup at Nairn Dunbar next week, Wednesday to Friday, May 22-24.

As holders of the trophy for a third time Brora received a first round bye and now find themselves in the quarterfinals without hitting a shot after their second round opponents, Tain, withdrew their team after the draw was published.

The withdrawal of Tain leaves only Fortrose and Rosemarkie and Strathpeffer Spa with teams at Nairn Dunbar and in the unlucky first round draw they play each other on Wednesday morning. The Fortrose and Rosemarkie second team are also in round one where they play Turriff.

Tain Golf Club

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.

Golf Robin Wilson