Tain County Cup drought is ended
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IN 1927, Tain Golf Club was presented with a cup by their then club president, Capt. JWB Dewar of Harperfield, Lanarkshire with the stipulation that it be played for annually by golfers from all Ross-shire golf clubs — but over the Tain golf links.
It became known as the County Cup and its first winner was Alex MacTavish of Tain. During the early years of the competition, the host club provided the first seven winners. As the championship spread its wings to other venues, Strathpeffer Spa members broke the Tain monopoly and in more recent memory Invergordon, Fortrose and Rosemarkie and Muir of Ord provided sporadic winners.
Tain’s thirteen-year gap since its last winner, Jock Urquhart in 2002 was ended last weekend when Invergordon hosted the 2013 championship and Munro Ferries won for the first time.
Having won the North District’s Youth’s Championship trophy at Royal Dornoch the previous weekend, Lyle McAlpine teed off on his home course as favourite to add another Ross-shire County Cup to his back wins in 2010 and 2011.
Opening with a two under par 67 from his birdie-cluttered halves of 33 and 34, McAlpine held a first round two-shot lead over his club mate, Steven Buchan (35/34), and Muir of Ord’s Graham Mellis who came home in 33 for his 69, and by three from Tain’s club champion, Ferries (35/35).
The local pair both got away to bad second round starts, McAlpine 3, 6, 6, out of bounds from a bunker recovery at the second hole and a lost ball from his second shot at the next hole, to finish with a poor 74 for the bronze medal while Buchan began his second round 3,6,5, to fall even further down the final rankings.
Playing with McAlpine, and seeing an opportunity arising to claim his first county cup, Ferries shrugged of the pain of being struck by a golf ball on the 9th hole midway through his first round, to play much more aggressively in his second round.
He began his card with par, par, birdie which caught and overtook the two local members and he reached the turn in two under par 33. He began his last nine holes with a birdie two on the short tenth hole and came home in level par 35 with just one mistake for bogey five at the 17th hole. Mellis, not so flamboyant, played steadily for 73 and eventual third place.
Local member Richard Cassie headed the nett handicap aggregates with 134, one ahead of Strathpeffer Spa’s James Gordon and in third place the new champion’s elder brother, Billy Ferries on 139.
The hosting club’s head greenkeeper, Alex MacDonald, who resides in Embo and is a member of Royal Dornoch, won the Sutherland championship at Golspie.
Scratch handicapper MacDonald set up his first County Cup win with an opening 66 and getting no series challenge from the chasers in the second round he cruised to a seven-shot win with a second round 71. Receiving the bronze medal as runner up was probationary professional, Liam MacDonald-MacLeod from Brora, with scores of 69 and 75.
WITH the backbone of the Northern Counties Women’s team lining up in the Ross-Sutherland women’s inter club team competition at Muir of Ord last Saturday, Tain Golf Club made another safe defence of the G A Gordon Trophy — their thirteenth in succession.
To Mary Smith’s 73 was added a 75 from Anne Ryan and a 76 from Claire Ross for a three score total of 224. Tain’s total of 224 won by ten shots from the Royal Dornoch first team that also included two Northern Counties team members for the forthcoming Jamboree in Tain this weekend.
Dornoch’s total of 234 was made up by Claire Riddell 76, Alison Bartlett 77, and Dorothy Lloyd 81 with fourth member Elizabeth Coghill’s score not required.
Not since 2007 has any club retained both scratch and handicap trophies. Tain was that club in 2007 when they won both the G A Gordon and A B Connon Trophies. Golspie Golf Club joined that exclusive list at Muir of Ord when two members of their handicap winning team from last year at Fortrose were their stars again at Muir of Ord.
At Muir of Ord Anne Duff’s nett 74, and Leslie Cranna’s nett 73, two of last year’s winning line up, were joined by Tracy Murray with nett 70 and Roseanne Cowie also nett 70 to post a best three score total of 213. By chance it tied the Royal Dornoch’s third team total so the tie break went to the fourth score. There Duff and Dornoch’s Kate Lawson were also tied with nett 74’s but on the next count back over their final nine holes Duff had the lower count and the trophy went back for another year to Golspie.
Royal Dornoch’s other nett scores were Moira Rennie (19) 69, Fiona MacDonald (19) 71, Eileen Macrae (20) 73.
Ross Sutherland Senior Golf Society
THE members played a stableford round of golf at Brora in fine weather and with the course in excellent conditions. The winners were:
Division 1 — 1 G Robinson (Bonar Bridge); 2 G Short (Fortrose and Rosemarkie); 3r D McLeod (Strathpeffer).
Division 2 — 1 R Nelson (F&R); 2 H Steele (Muir of Ord); 3 H Milne (MoO).
Division 3 — 1 H Joss (Invergordon); 2 P Longrove (MoO); 3 P Macpherson (Alness).
The next RSSGS competitions are a mixed foursomes at Invergordon on July 12 and a scratch foursomes at Tarbat on June 26.
Tain Golf Club
RECENT results from the club:
Ladies third round club championships (CSS 74) — Anne Ryan (3) 73; Lorraine Mackay (16) 73; Pam Moscati (19) 74.
Senior Club Championship Qualifying round (CSS 70) — 1 D J MacKay (9) 68; 2 J A Cameron (12) 69; 3 R Clark (11) 70.
Scratch Winner — D J MacKay; 2 T Watson.
Handicap Winner — T L Keir; 2 M Anderson.
Junior Club Championship
Handicap winner — P Murray; 2 A Borland.
Box Tee Stableford (CSS 70) — 1 B McDougall (16) 37 points BIH; 2 M J Sangster (4) 37; 3 M Brown (19) 35.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club
RESULTS from the Open Texas Scramble (all Fortrose and Rosemarkie unless otherwise states:
Handicap — P Schnier, K Fowler, E Skinner and B Kerr (Royal Dornoch) (2.9) 53.1; K Stewart (Strathpeffer), S MacPherson (Strathpeffer), M McNab (Strathpeffer) and A MacBean (Strathpeffer) (2.3) 55.7; M MacDonald, C Young, B Main anf N MacDonald (Torvean) (2.2) 55.8; D Neville (Royal Burgess), D Finlay (Royal Burgess), Mrs J Neville (Murrayfield) and Mrs J Finlay (Ravelston) (5.0) 56.0; M McArthur, I Duff, J A Smith and J Hearmon (4.0) 56.0; D Robertson (Auchterarder), Mrs C Robertson (Auchterarder), A Robertson (Newburgh) and Mrs C Robertson (Newburgh) (3.5) 56.5.
