Northern Counties Crown at long last for Alison
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AFTER losing the last two finals of the Northern Counties Women’s golf championship, Alison Bartlett got a third bite at the cherry at Royal Dornoch last weekend to win her first title.
She defeated Nairn Dunbar’s Annabelle Brown in the final after 15 holes.
Brown was seventh seed in the scratch draw following her score of 85 in Saturday’s medal round. Bartlett, the Scottish senior strokeplay champion, was the only player to break 80 with a card of 77, one over the ladies’ course par, and collected her first trophy of the weekend, the Mairi Orr Shield, as best scratch qualifier.
Last year’s champion Thomson came into the matchplay at fourth seed after a score of 82 but the door opened for Bartlett when she was shocked in the first round by Inverness’s Kerri Harper. She was two up on Thomson before losing the 17th hole but held on for a one hole win to go through and play Bartlett in the semi-final.
Fourteen-year-old Emma Logie made the scratch section at her first attempt and met Bartlett in the first round. Bartlett was at her best for a 13th green win.
Bartlett ended her semi-final tie against Harper with two birdies on the 15th and 16th greens for a 3 and 2 result to carry her into her third final in five years.
In the other semi, Nairn Dunbar’s Annabelle Brown got revenge over Tain’s Mary Smith who had beaten her at the 19th hole in last year’s first round. Brown was four ahead before Smith fought back but lost on the 17th green.
In the final the Nairn Dunbar member hooked left towards the Dornoch Hotel with her first drive but with a very good recovery found the green and won the hole when Bartlett surprisingly three-putted.
With another pull left from the second tee Brown was not so fortunate and lost her ball to concede the hole when Bartlett safely put her tee shot on the green.
When Brown found the first of Dornoch’s many sand traps at the fourth hole Bartlett went one ahead, a lead she would never surrender.
Brown visited sand again at the next hole but escaped with a half when Bartlett also missed the green with her approach. The next two holes were halved but a three-putt on the eighth green by Brown gave Bartlett a two-hole lead.
The 10th and 11th hole were exchanged but Bartlett hit a birdie on the 12th green and eyed victory with a comfortable three-hole cushion. Brown lost her way at the shortish 15th hole and at four behind an inevitable Bartlett win was completed with a birdie four on the 16th.
Brown’s Nairn Dunbar clubmate Abbie Cruden (16) led the handicap qualifiers last year and was in the same position at Dornoch before Madison Strachan (Cullen), also 16, got the better of her in the semi-finals to line up a handicap final against Niketa Cruickshank (Buckpool).
Cruickshank was better equipped for the Dornoch championship links and a birdie three on the 15th allowed her to claim her first Chetham Trophy in a Northern Counties competition at the next hole.
Results: Scratch semi-finals: A Bartlett (RDGC) beat K Harper (Inverness) 3/2. A Brown (Nairn Dunbar) beat M Smith (Tain) 2/1. Final: Bartlett beat Brown 5/3.
Handicap semi-finals: M Strachan (Cullen) (12) beat A Cruden (Nairn Dunbar) (17) 5/4. N Cruickshank (Buckpool) (10) beat A Grant (Brora) (18) 5/4. Final: Cruickshank beat Strachan 3/2.
