Only one player breaks 80 in Alliance final fixture

Summer time was still a week away when the final fixture of the North Golf Alliance season was played at Brora.

Snow flurries were intermittent in the cold north wind and the low entry was marked by only one player breaking 80.

Local Robert MacDonald, who also led the scratch returns last November at the Golspie fixture, fought his way to the turn in 42 blows, eight of them at the third hole, but with the cold wind assisting on the back nine he had a couragous inward nine holes of 37 for 79.

MacDonald was followed onto the scratch leader board by Caithness’s Dougie Thorburn 81, Alex Gunn (Tain) 82, and his Tain club mate mate Steve Holmes 83. There were no cards returned at Brora from any of the three contenders for the scratch aggregate Alliance Quaich, John Forbes (Muir of Ord) remained on 275, Munro Ferries (Tain) 282 and Darren Hexley (Golspie) 283 so after being pipped for the Quaich last season by Dougie Thorburn, Forbes won it for the first time.

Stanley Ross (Thurso) was a first time winner of the handicap aggregate MacIntosh Salver by the narrow margin of one stroke.

Tain six handicapper Alex Gunn headed the low handicap section returns.

Salver winner Ross, who plays from ten handicap, was amongst the scratch leaders with gross 82 and his nett 72 was without doubt one of the two outstanding scores of the day. He won his high handicap section by three from his club mate Eva Sutherland who shared a nett 75, off 28 with Glister McGowan (Furness), handicap 11.

With only two clubs, Durness and Tain, providing the requisite numbers of players able to post four scores in the team competition, Durness, with the help of McGown’s 75, Ali Morrison’s 77 John Morrison’s 80 and Martin MacKay’s 83 for a total of 315 regained the Alliance Shield after an absence of six years from the Durness clubhouse.

Brora Results. Scratch - R MacDonald (Brora) 79; D Thorburn (Thurso/Tain) 81; A Gunn (Tain), S Ross (Thurso) 82. Handicap Class 1 – A Gunn (Tain) (6) 76; S Holmes (Tain) (5) 78; K Lorimer (Brora) (8) 80. Class 2 – S Ross (Thurso) (10) 72; E Sutherland (Thurso), A McGowan (Durness) (11) 75. Team Trophy – Durness 315. Tain 318

THE golfing season get under way in earnest this weekend when the Brora and Golspie Golf Clubs work in tandem to host two 18 hole open events, Golspie on Saturday and Brora on Sunday.

The events are open to both ladies and gentlemen and in addition to daily prizes there will be 36 hole winners over the weekend.

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