Double-header blown away in gale force winds
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THE Brora and Golspie double-header spring 18 hole events last weekend turned into a single round at Brora due to bad weather.
Golspie-born left-hander Darren Hexley travelled up early from his Inverness home on Saturday and by lunchtime had posted a gross 71 over the course he played in his early years when the wind strengthened.
By midday Hexley’s card looked a safe winning score but by early afternoon competitors began to walk off the course, finding the ever-increasing gale conditions impossible to play in.
Shortly afterwards the contest was abandoned and all the competitors called from the course for Hexley’s scratch win to be denied.
Next day at Brora, Hexley was an early starter in the field of 68 and was the early scratch leader in the clubhouse with a repeat score of 71.
He got his card under way with two opening birdies and with three bogies at the 3rd, 5th and 7th holes turned for home in one over par 36. Nine straight par figures followed on the inward nine and his 71 stood until it was matched later by local head greenkeeper James MacBeath.
MacBeath found himself having to make up ground on the leader after an opening bogey five, but with a birdie at the fourth hole to cancel that out he was in the lead with a level par outward count of 35.
Wedged between a birdie on the par five 11th hole, MacBeath dropped shots to par on the 10th and 12th before signing off for an inward 36, and on the card playoff against Hexley this inward score relegated him to second behind the Golspie member.
Local secretary Tony Gill, with halves of 36 and 37, had the third best scratch score from a four handicap into a three way net tie on 69. Gill won this card playoff ahead of David Walker (Dunkeld and Birnham) 76 (7) 69 and local Daniel Norrie 80 (11) 69 to take first place in the low handicap section.
In Class 2, Frazer Gillespie (Nairn) headed his section with a net 65 off 14, ahead of another spring visitor, Andrew Kinnes (Panmure) whose net 70 off 17 was blighted by a quadruple bogey on the 12th hole. Local Mike Howells was two stokes further back with net 72 off 14.
With Gill’s elevation to first handicap voucher, the third scratch voucher went to Royal Aberdeen’s Stuart Finnie with a gross 74. From the small entry of five playing in the women’s competition Finnie’s wife Michelle was runner up behind the Brora women’s captain Anne Clarke, who led with 75 off 16.
Across the firth at Tain there was a huge entry of more than 130 for their Spring Open, where Fortrose and Rosemarkie’s Alan Cameron overcame a very strong field to repeat his scratch win of a year ago. Cameron bettered his 73 of last year by six strokes and in doing so dropped his handicap to plus 2. His 67 (33/34) finished three ahead of the North District champion Dougie Thorburn (Thurso), who was two shots ahead of local member Billy Ferries (37/35) and David Joel (Inverness) (35/37).
Tain’s handicap winners in Class 1 were all local members: Stewart Greig (12) 66, John Bell (12) 68 and Rob Hudson (9) 68. Class 2 – Michael Brown (Tain) (17) 65, Neil Jaffrey (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (14) 73 and Phil Woods (Walton Hall) (16) also 73.
