Mike mixes it with the scratch boys
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TARBAT greenkeeper, Mike Keay, mixed it with the scratch boys in the North Golf Alliance fixture at Royal Dornoch last Sunday and after missing a scratch award by a shot was happy to come away with the first place in the low handicap section.
Not for the first time, but for the last this season, when the final fixture was played over Royal Dornoch’s world rated championship course Thurso pair Bryan Ronald and Dougie Thorburn shared the best scratch returns.
The winter course at Dornoch was more in line to Keay’s home Portmahomack course at just 5,363 yards but the par of 70 (35/35) remains the same as the world rated 6,685 yard championship links. Six handicapper Keay, matched the outward par of 35 with three birdies scored at the 1st, 7th and eighth 8th holes after missing the two par threes and a third bogey taken at the ninth hole. He also bogied the two inward half short holes in his count of 38 for 73. A card of 73 (36/37) also came from the Tain professional Stuart Morrison who before his Tain post was attached to the Dornoch club as a teaching professional.
Thorburn, Thurso’s plus one handicapper, cut the outward stretch of 2,796 yards down to 33 shots with birdies at the 7th and 9th holes but his finishing gross 72 was hampered with four bogies over the final six holes, 13th, 15th, 16th and eighteenth for an inward 39.
The highlight of Ronald’s card in an outward level par 35 was an eagle two at the 260 yard eighth hole, driving the green and holing the putt. His two under par 8th hole advantage was given back to the course with a double bogey five at the first of the inward holes and was quickly followed by another dropped stroke. However picking up a birdie against the card at the 15th hole he was home in 37 for his 72 and on the second half countback ended his season as he had began it last October in Durness with a first scratch place.
But Thorburn with six first scratch finishes from nine events where his four lowest scores totalled 281 carried away for the first time the Alliance Quaich after being pipped at the post by Tain’s Munro Ferries twelve months ago. His club mate, Ronald, was in a tie for second place on 289 with Tain’s Mike Sangster but lost out on the runners-up voucher on a best individual score outwith a players home county. Sangster’s gross 70 at Thurso in the north bettered that of Ronald’s winning 72 at Dornoch.
Thurso Golf Club members doubled up on the individual trophies when David Dunbar won the MacKintosh Salver for four best nett scores. Again their was a tie, Francis Keith (Durness) matching Dunbar’s total of 273 after Dunbar caught Keith with a final nett 70 at Dornoch and the Durness player did not improve on his previous total. The same away scores separating rule was applied but Keith was disadvantaged with only one "away" score of 68 in his total which was returned at the Invergordon venue while Dunbar recorded a 68 at Brora and then a 69 at Tarbat.
With the foundation laid by their three low handicap players, Dunbar nett 70, Ronald nett 70 and Thorburn nett 73 it only required a nett 74 from Gregor Munro to confirm Thurso Golf Club retained the team Alliance Shield with a total of 287. Joint runners-up were Tain and Reay on 289.
Following Mike Keay in the Class 1 handicap returns were David Dunbar’s 70 and then Wayne Mowat (Reay) having the nest of the 71s from Seann Sutherland (Bonar-bridge/Ardgay) and Tain’s Raymond Lockie. Leading the high handicap returns was Wullie McLean from Wick, improving on previous finishes in Class 2 to a first place at Dornoch with nett 70, off 15.
Spring Walk-on Open 18 hole fixtures start up shortly at Alliance Course venues. The first at Brora next Sunday, March 25, then Golspie, Saturday March 31 and Tain on Sunday April 1.
Results from Dornoch Alliance.
Scratch — 72 B Ronald (Thurso) (35/37), D Thorburn (Thurso) (33/39); 73 S Morrison (Pro) (Tain) 36/37, M Keay (Tarbat) (35/38); 75 D Dunbar (Thurso) (37/38).
Handicap Class 1 — M Keay (Tarbat) (6) 67. D Dunbar (Thurso) (5) 70. W Mowat (Reay) (6), R Lockie (Tain) (9), S Sutherland (Bonar-Ardgay) (7) 71. Class 2 – W McLean (Wick) (15) 70. A Mackay (Reay) (10) 71. A. Melville (Tain) (11), I Ross Reay( (11) 71.
North Scottish Alliance Championship
INVERNESS’ Bryan Fotheringham, a former Scottish internationalist and the reigning North District champion rounded off the North Scottish Alliance season with a championship win in the final fixture at Nairn Dunbar last Saturday.
Having already won the aggregate competition, Fotheringham secured a two stroke victory for the Sir Hugh Mackenzie Trophy with halves of 34 and 35 for a three under par 69. Professional, Duncan Stewart (Grantown) held a card of two under par after 11 holes but a run of three fives dropped him back to 71.
Fotheringham’s former Inverness club mate but now a Fortrose and Rosemarkie member, Alan Cameron was the best of Ross-shire’s golfers in the field with a 74, the same card as the Royal Dornoch club manager Neil Hampton.
Leading scratch scores — 69 B R Fotheringham (Inverness); 71 D Stewart (Pro) (Grantown); 72 J L Milne (Elgin); 73 R Mckerron (Forres); 74 K Thomson (Moray), R A Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), N D Hampton (Royal Dornoch); 75 J A Grant (Grantown), G Hay (Grantown), J S D Campbell (Grantown), G S Macdonald (Torvean), R H Stewart (Torvean); 76 J Simpson (Forres), N Mcwilliam (Elgin), S G Milne (Elgin); 77 K Barnett (Torvean); 79 M L Macleman (Moray), A Boxx (Boat of Garten); 80 B Cruickshank (Garmouth and Kingston), J C Milne (Moray), W Hutchison (Inverness), C Dixon (Moray), T Dingwall (Nairn Dunbar), A Thomson (Pro) (Moray), D F Sharp (Boat of Garten); 81 M Mitchell (Rothes), R Harrower (Pro) (Boat of Garten), A Henry (Inverness), A Hutchison (Torvean), S Wilson (Inverness); 82 S Mitchell (Moray), R Mackay (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), R Younie (Rothes), C Small (Nairn).
Handicap Section One (seven and under) — 71 R H Stewart (Torvean) (4); 72 R Mckerron (Forres)(1); 73 G S Macdonald (Torvean)(2), K Barnett (Torvean) (4).
Handicap Section Two (8-14) — 70 L Hutchison (Inverness) (14); 71 C Small (Nairn) (11), A Boxx (Boat of Garten) (7), D Ross (Boat of Garten) (14); 72 M Mitchell (Rothes)(9).
Muir 0f Ord Golf Club
LATE entries will be accepted on 01463 871311 for the Three-ball Stableford Open at Muir of Ord Gof Club on Saturday, March 24. Competitors, from the host club unless stated, tee off in threes at eight minute intervals.
Abbreviations: A, Alness; F, Fortrose; I, Invergordon; IN, Inverness; ND, Nairn Dunbar; S, Strathpeffer; P, Pumpherston; T, Tain; TO, Torvean.
7.30am — M Hind, W Whyte and R Fraser.
8.10am — H Steele, P Maclaren and G Knapp; S Scott and G Flynn; B Roberts, B Aspinall and D Paterson; P C Green; L Reid and N Telford; K Bertram, M Bertram and B Macdonald.
9.08am — C Mcmaster, J Robertson and P Tripp; A Pollock, B Syms and T Mackenzie (S); M Fraser and K Tarr; I Morrison, J Munro and P Morrison; Garry Mellis, Murdo Macleod and A Mackintosh (TO); S Forbes, S Johnson and J Whittet; T Cameron, R Moir and B Fraser.
10.04am — S Brady, P Brady and J Watt (IN); D Irvine (ND), D Forbes (ND) and S McLaren (ND); P MacPherson, E MacPherson and D Groat; K Cameron (P), I Cameron and A Hoare; I Bremner, M MacLeod and A Gitsham; H Stuart, M Ritchie and J Alford (T); H Flynn (IN), G Flynn (T) and D Howell (F).
11.08am — S Hooker, M Hooker and S Harman (S); J Lyle, J Lee and C Hook; R Fraser, C Robb and K Williamson (F); R Cassie (I), A Murray (A) and R Bell (A); I Rae, M Rae and C Speirs; I Dickie, J O’ Rawe, R Ewart.
12.28pm — D Hollinger, T Junor and E Watson; J MacKenzie, J E Mackay and Gordon McIntosh.
13.56pm — S McIntosh, S Jack and J Fraser; G Mellis, J R Mackay and Graham McIntosh.
