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Change of name a good omen for Thomson


By Robin Wilson

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The Dornoch pair who met in the Northern Counties final: Alison Bartlett (left) and Cara Thomson.
The Dornoch pair who met in the Northern Counties final: Alison Bartlett (left) and Cara Thomson.

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 she had won the championship on four previous occasions but recently married she collected her first as Cara Thomson when she beat her club mate Alison Bartlett in Sunday's final on the 17 green.

In the Tain verses Royal Dornoch scratch semi finals Thomson came back from three behind to beat Tain's Mary Smith with a birdie on the 17 green and in a similar fight back Bartlett recovered from an early three hole deficit by winning five holes on the bounce from the 12 to the 16 for her 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 11 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 11 green but won back the next hole when Thomson drove out of bounds. The 13 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 15 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 17 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 when Bartlett's nemesis struck again and she missed another short putt for a half allowing Thomson emerge with the Mary Benton Trophy at 2&1.

In the final of the handicap Chetham Trophy Inverness's June Nicol had to give twelve shots to her Forres opponent, Barbara Grant. It was too much of a burden and the Forres member emerged the winner on the same hole the scratch final ended.

Tain's Mary Smith won the prize for the leading scratch qualifier, with a card of 7,7 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 could be the next Kelsey MacDonald with a three below net par 72 to lead the handicap qualifiers and then make it through to the semi finals. Royal Dornoch's Claire Riddell and daughter Rebecca both made it through to the match play stages, Claire beaten by Anne Ryan (Tain) and Rebecca can't wait for next year's competition to get another crack at Abbie Cruden when the championship returns to Royal Dornoch.


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