Home comforts for Black Isle duo as Alliance hits Fortrose and Rosemarkie
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FORTROSE and Rosemarkie Golf Club provided two winners when hosting last Saturday’s visit by the North Scottish Golfer’s Alliance and enjoying the home comforts were Chris Gaittens and Donnie MacLeod.
Gaittens (25) whose best result since becoming a member of the North Scottish Golfers’ Alliance was a joint first place with Scot Dingwall (Grantown on Spey) at Grantown in October 2013 before progressing to his first individual scratch win last Saturday and MacLeod was the only player in a field of ninety who smashed his handicap.
The Channory Point peninsular course designed by James Braid has a bit of a reputation for being very difficult when wind sweeps across from East or West so Saturday’s benign condition caught out quite a lot of players and the scoring was not as low as expected., only MacLeod with a below SSS handicap winning score.
Wedged between two birdies at the 5th and 7th holes Gaitten’s bogey at the long 6th hole was his second in an outward half of par 36 before a two under par inward 33 for 69, highlighted by an eagle two at the 265 yard 14th hole, head the scratch cards and win by one stroke from former Scottish internationalist Bryan Fotheringham (Inverness).
Fotheringham, the reigning Alliance champion, had birdie twos on his outward card at the 5th and ninth short holes to arrive on the tenth tee at two under par 34. But two shots were dropped on his run for home at the 11th and fifteenth, one recovered with birdie at the same hole that Gaitten’s eagled for a one over 36 and a second place 70.
Matching the par of 71, with a birdie two at the final hole, was local Alan Cameron (39/32) and John Campbell (Grantown on Spey) (36/35), whose double bogey six at the 15th was repaired by birdies at the 14th and seventeenth. Then Elgin’s Neil MacWilliam’s card featured four birdies and also an eagle two at the 14th, but cluttered it with six bogies. in par matching halves of 36 and 35.
A third local to figure in the top eight was Lewis Reid (35/37), joined on 72 by Gordon Hay (Grantown on Spey) and Bruce Thomson (Torvean) (37/35). Hay’s net 71 raised him into second handicap place in Class one for a second week running where the winner with net 70, off 1, was Elgin’s MacWilliam. Outside the scratch prize list Lewis Reid would have collected a handicap prize for his share of net 71.
Only Donnie MacLeod from the two handicap categories have an early Spring bloom. The home based 13 handicapper bogied the first four holes then matched par to the 11th before his next bogey which was followed by another par and then the regulatory birdie at "Bonfire Hill ", the fourteenth. He ended his round as he began dropping three shots over the final two holes but still with plenty in reserve to break 80 scratch (40/38) and his nett 65 had a seven shot winning margin over Ian Grant (Grantown on Spey).
The fog postponed November fixture at Nairn Dunbar has been rearranged for next Saturday February 21 and the fixtures return to a scheduled Ross-shire venue (Muir of Ord) on Saturday February 28.
Leading scratch scores:
69 C Gaittens (Fortrose & Rosemarkie);
70 B Fotheringham (Inverness);
71 J S D Campbell (Grantown), A Cameron (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), N McWilliam (Elgin);
72 G H Hay (Grantown), L Reid (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), B J Thomson (Torvean);
73 D Hector (Elgin), D Ramsay (Pro)(Moray);
74 B Cruickshank (Spey Bay);
75 K Godsman (Moray), R H Stewart (Torvean);
76 J Simpson (Forres);
77 J R Ingram (Boat of Garten), J Shaw (Boat of Garten), G Allan (Moray), D Joel (Inverness);
78 D F Sharp (Boat of Garten), A Waterson (Grantown), R McKerron (Forres), I Murray (Boat of Garten), D M MacLeod (Forrose & Rosemarkie), J Wright (Forres);
79 C C MacDonald (Elgin), R Kinnaird (Grantown), A Hutchison (Inverness), W Donnelly (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), W R Duncan (Moray), R J Wilson (Brora), W Weatherall (Muir of Ord), P Masson (Rothes); 1 R Stewart (Nairn Dunbar), F MacKellar (Grantown);
Handicap Section 1 – N McWilliam (Elgin) (10) 70. J R Ingram (Boat of Garten)(6), D Hector (Elgin) (2), G H Hay (Grantown) (1), L Reid (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (1)71. Section 2 - D M MacLeod (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (13)65. I Grant (Grantown) (13) 72. G Cruickshank (Spey Bay) (9), T Madden (Elgin)(9), F MacKellar (Grantown) (8), I MacKellar (Grantown) (11), A McWilliam (Moray)(16) 73.
