Week to remember for Buchan after successful defence of Invergordon title
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STEVEN Buchan’s week of golf was complete when seven days after winning his club’s Open Tournament he successfully defended the Invergordon club championship after beating David MacCormick in last Saturday’s final.
Following the strokeplay qualifying rounds Buchan was only the fourth seed, leading the scoring with 71 and 70 was Jock MacIver while Buchan opened with a 77 but made it into the matchplay with a second round 68.
Sixty-eight was also the score on the first round card of several times champion, Andrew Gilmour, but as he inadvertently had left his card unsigned he was under the rules of golf disqualified from the championship
Buchan breezed past Ally Mackenzie in the quarter-finals then put out the leading qualifier, MacIver, by 4 & 3 in the semis to come up against David MacCormick in Saturday evening’s final. MacCormick was a comfortable 5&4 semi-final winner over the club Captain, John Fraser.
The final was heading to be over even quicker than Buchan’s match against Mackenzie when he was six holes to the good through eleven. But MacCormick rallied and it took a seventeenth hole birdie from Buchan to clinch his fourth championship by 2 &1.
Fenton Ogley became a first time handicap champion beating Jim Mackay 3&2 in this final while Liam Skinner clinched the junior championship beating Ryan Patterson 5&4.
In the women’s championships Donna Sinclair was crowned scratch champion after defeating Jill Sharp in the final and Margaret MacLeod won the handicap title beating Shuna Webster in that final game.
Results
Men Scratch
Quarter-finals — J MacIver beat A R Campbell 4/3; S Buchan beat A Mackenzie 8/6; D MacCormick beat L Simpson one hole; J Fraser beat D Baker one up.
Semi-finals — Buchan beat MacIver 4/3; MacCormick beat Fraser 5/4.
Final — Buchan beat MacCormick 2/1.
Handicap Final — R Gillespie beat J Patterson 4/3.
Senior Final — F Ogley beat J Mackay 3/2.
Junior Final — L Skinner beat R Patterson 5/4.
Womens Championship
Scratch — D Sinclair beat J Sharp 5/3.
Handicap — M MacLeod beat S Webster 6/5.
Fortrose & Rosemarkie Championships.
Over on the Channory Point Michael MacDonald won the Fortrose and Rosemarkie club championship for a record eighth time beating the unlucky Chris Gaittens who has now lost four finals.
Two Gaittens, father Ken and son Chris spearheaded a family challenge in this season’s championship both reaching the semi-final stages but only Chris made it through after beating Alan Cameron while Ken fell to, the defending champion and club secretary, MacDonald.
Young Gaittens took up the challenge in the final and could so easily have been two holes in the early stages but for some saving putts on the greens from MacDonald. Over the next three holes and through to the end of the game MacDonald’s edge on the greens proved decisive. He won the 5th, 6th and eighth holes to progress to the 10th tee with a two hole lead after Gaittens holed out in birdie two on the ninth green.
When Gaittens made a mistake from the 15th tee MacDonald moved to dormy three in front. Both players putted for birdies on the next green, Gaittens first from 16 feet and holing out, but MacDonald matched the birdie from inside him to end the tie at 3 & 2.
Del Newbigging won the handicap championship final after overcoming Davie Tuach in the final by 4&3. Having led the qualifiers Robert MacKay was in his third successive senior final having won the last two but when he came up against the number two seed Willie Donnelly MacKay relinquished his title on the last green by one hole.
The senior handicap championship was won by relatively new member, Mike Morrison, who played well below his 24 handicap to overwhelm Alan Murray in the final by 6&5. Karen Johnstone was taken to the last green in defence the women’s scratch championship but won the hole and retained her title against Stacy Simpson. In the women’s handicap final it was a cruise to the trophy by Meryl Marshall who won after just twelve holes against Anne Brown.
Men's Scratch Results.
Quarter finals — M MacDonald beat G Moore 4/3; K Gaittens beat L Reid one hole; C Gaittens beat A Brown 4/3; A Cameron beat P Cameron 2 up.
Semi-finals — MacDonald beat K Gaittens 5/3; C Gaittens beat A Cameron 2/1.
Final — MacDonald beat C Gaittens 3/2.
FORTY-EIGHT members of the Ross and Sutherland Seniors Golf Society played in a Greensomes competition at Tarbat Golf Club on Wednesday, June 24 where they competed for the Campbell / Lovell Targes. The weather although cloudy was for the most part dry.
The Campbell Lovell Targes were won by Arthur MacArthur (Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club) and Ian Black (Muir of Ord Golf Club).
Results — 1 Arthur MacArthur (Fortrose and Rosemarkie and Ian Black (Muir of Ord) 39 points BIH; 2 Donald Urquhart (Tarbat) and Murdo Macleod (Muir of Ord) 39; 3 Rab Pollock (Muir of Ord) and Jim Keith (Alness) 37.
The next outing will be to Alness Golf Club on Wednesday, July 8. Further details can be found on the society website.
