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 Winter Tournaments - Season 2007-2008 Alliance (Reay
2) -
02/12/07
Weather conditions for this round of the North Golf Alliance were superb if a bit frosty for the early starters. Thankfully everybody had completed their rounds when conditions deteriorated very badly by late afternoon. A good field produced 45 birdies and one eagle on a very good putting surface for the time of year. The hardest hole to make par was the second followed by the fourth in a tough opening and of course as always the easiest par fell at the short fifth hole. It was worth noting that the 14th surrendered 11 birdies, which must be a record, and a load of big numbers with the 6th another par five giving up five birdies. In Division two scoring was really very good. Terry Mackay of Thurso made birdie at the 5th and Dave Duncan of Invergordon also made birdie two but at the 9th. Andy Mackay of Reay birdied the 14th and Hamish Boyd of Thurso made birdie at the 16th. Alistair McCowan of Durness 82-12-70 helped himself to two birdies at the 3rd and also the 14th. Billy Dunbar 84-16-68 and Ewan Crawford 93-25-68 both produce good par breaking rounds on their home track. Tied for 4th place were playing partners Kenny Farmer 83-16-67 and Alex Mackay 85-18-67 both of Reay. Kenny Farmer courtesy of a very fine birdie at the 16th got the nod with the better back nine. John Morrison of the Durness Club 83-17-66 made third place his own and John Mackenzie 82-17-65 also of Durness went one better to edge out his stable mate to claim second place. Shaun Ashe of Brora GC was the star man in the Division with the lowest gross of 76 and figures of 76-12-64 meant Shaun took the spoils comfortably. Scoring was also good in Division 1 where Dougie Thorburn of Thurso had a good day on the greens sinking putts at the 3rd, 7th and the 12th. Mike Keay the Greenkeeper from Tarbat GC made a birdie at the 14th. Tony Gill Secretary at Brora GC had a pair of birdies at the 6th and the 14th. Don Mackay Junior now playing out of Thurso also had a good day on the greens with three birdies at the 6th, 14th and the 17th in a great back nine. Fred Groves of Reay made birdie at the 17th and Ron Barker of Wick holed a birdie at the second. There were birdies for Stuart Greig (Reay) and Jim Meiklejohn (Thurso) at the 14th. Alec Gunn of Tain struck with birdies at the 4th and 13th and Dan Miller of Lybster made a two at the 7th. Congratulations to Ewan Mackenzie 76-5-71 of Thurso who drove the green at the 17th and holed for an eagle two. Five tied in 4th place on nett 70 and these were Alan Swanson 72-2-70 Thurso with back to back birdies at the 14th and 15th. Munro Ferries 70-0-70 the scratch golfer from Tain also with three birdies at the 3rd, 13th and the grandstand two at the 18th. Bruce Mackay of Reay 80-10-70 was another with three birdies at the 1st, 13th and 16th. John O'Brien, Reay, 76-6-70 had a good front nine with birdies at the 1st and the 6th. Finally Ronnie Taylor of Wick 69+1-70 with birdies at the 6th, 14th and 16th. In third place was Lee Parnell of the home club who sunk three birdie putts at the 5th, 12th and 13th for 74-5-69. Bryan Suttar of Thurso had his best day on the Reay Links with birdies at the 5th, 14th and 17th to come in second. With the edge over the field Shaun Sutherland of Bonar Bridge & Ardgay GC was the form player with a fine birdie two at the 9th for superb figures of 74-8-66. In the scratch section it was a close run thing with the old veteran campaigner from Wick GC Ronnie Taylor shooting a great par round of 69 with of course three birdies, going out in 35 dropping shots at the first two holes in an untidy start and making birdie at the 6th to be one over at the turn. Again a dropped shot at the 10th but then immaculate golf with birdies at the 14th and 16th to come home one under par. Munro Ferries of Tain pushed Ronnie all the way to be runner up on 70. Alan Swanson of Thurso was third with 72 and Lee Parnell of Reay had 74 to finish fourth alongside Shaun Sutherland from Bonar.
Alliance (Reay
1) -
14/10/07
There was a glut of terrific golf at Reay on Sunday with the course in fantastic condition and the greens putting very well. Sixty four turned up to play and there were 68 birdies outlining how good the course was and how good the conditions were as many took advantage with some personal best scores at Reay. With a gentle breeze from the West the first proved to be the toughest par and the 14th the easiest hole. The 13th hole took a formidable battering from the field giving up no less than 9 birdies and there were 7 at the 6th hole where there was also a couple of 10's. The 14th, 15th and the 17th surrendered 6 birdies each. Most of the field scored well on the inward stretch as the last four holes normally card wreckers proved to be tame in ideal conditions. Birdies were being holed from all corners with technically a birdie from every player in the field such was the quality from the field. The best scratch score came from Don A.Mackay 66-2-64 now playing out of Thurso but feeling comfortable back at his favourite stamping ground cracked in 5 birdies finding the greens to his liking in a wonderful round of 66. Birdies fell for Don at the 4th, 6th, 9th, 14th and a grandstanding two at the 18th as he went out in 32 which was two under par. He slipped up with a bogey at the 7th and at the 15th but came home in 34 which was one under. The worst score on the card was a four and this showed a bit of class with great course management. Tony Gill 69-4-65 the Club Secretary at Brora was also in superb form with the second best scratch score of 69. Out in 34 and back in 35 with three birdies at the 9th and then back to back at the 13th and 14th. This was Tony's best round at Reay equalling par. Steve Efemey of the home club 69-8-61 also equalled par. There were 11 birdies in category two and the most prolific scorer was Alistair McCowan of Durness who made three birdies at the 9th, 10th and the 13th. The top five all broke par and after the countback Stuart McDonald of Tarbat 83-15-68 with a birdie at the 9th settled for 5th. Richard Thain 85-17-68 of Wick was fourth and youngster Allyn Sutherland of Reay 84-16-68 grabbed the third slot. Reay Club Secretary Bill McIntosh despite opening with two 6's recovered well to finish with figures of 86-20-66 for second place, with a stroke of luck at the 17th as his ball went into the burn and shot back into play off a well placed rock. Winning category two was home player Andy Mackay who had the best gross score of 78-13-65 going out in 38and back home in 40. Again it was a very good card with excellent course management.
There was definitely fireworks in category one with no less than 10 breaking par and Eric Larnach 72-3-69 of Lybster the sole man with a nett par. Scott McDonald 78-8-70 of Thurso had a haul of four birdies at the 4th, 5th, 12th and the 18th. Grant Maxwell of Reay had a disappointing round 80-6-74 but still made three birdies at the 6th, 7th and 14th. Robin Wilson of Brora 79-6-73 had a good start with birdies at the 4th and 6th. Mike Keay of Tarbat 80-7-73 also had a pair of birdies at the 5th and the 12th. David Dunbar of Reay 75-5-70 made birdies at the 19th and 13th and Ron Matheson of Thurso 76-3-73 had a brace at the 14th and 17th. Wayne Mowat 76-6-70 birdied the 6th and the 11th and David Mackay 81-8-73 birdied the 5th and 17th. Alistair Bell of Thurso 80-6-74 was another with a pair of birdies at the 3rd and the 16th. Three players shared nett 68 and these were Bruce Mackay 78-10-68 of Reay with a birdie at the 16th. Alan Swanson 70-2-68 of the Thurso club having a great round and sneaking in three birdies with fine putts at the 6th, 15th and of course the grandstand two at the 18th for the gallery. Stuart Greig 78-10-68 of Reay made birdie at the 13th and had an outrageous chip from well off the green for a birdie at the 17th. Shaun Sutherland 75-8-67 from Bonar Bridge & Ardgay birdied the 15th and 16th in a strong finish, lost a ball at the 17th but birdied the second ball for a bogey to maintain his challenge. John O'Brien the Reay Club Champion 73-6-67 was not to be left out and had birdies at the 3rd and 15th for fourth place. Graeme Grant 71-4-67 from Helmsdale took third place courtesy of three fine birdies at the 9th, 13th and the dangerous 17th. Second place went to a player enjoying a run of good form in Colin Stewart of Reay 73-10-63 who birdied the 12th producing a terrific score for the second week having shot a 65 last weekend. The winner was Steve Efemey of Reay 69-8-61 with a staggering score to destroy a field which had produced outstanding scoring. Steve a very stylish player with a very nice swing put it to good use in the round banging in four birdies. Steve opened with a pair of bogeys and got his first birdie at the 4th and then made a bogey at the 7th to be out in 36. On the back nine there was a treble birdie blitz with a run of three birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th then an untidy bogey at the 16th and a par finish to come home in 33 two under par. It was a round overdue and he picked a superb day and a strong field to post such a good score particularly when Don Mackay put in a crushing 66 which could have taken the honours and Tony Gill of Brora also posted a fine 69.
Eclectic Round 6 -
15/03/08
With a very tight field in the top places of the Reay Winter League Eclectic, John O'Brien was inspired on Saturday, reducing his score by an impressive 4 shots to leave the rest of the field standing. The conditions were good for a March fixture and on the day there was some excellent scores with 7 players matching par or better and a combined count of 22 birdies. Four players returned net 69 with John O'Brien coming out on top, after countback, in 4th place. The top 3 places were also decided on countback with 67s for all 3, Chris Hobson came in 3rd, Evan Sutherland in 2nd and John Disbury 1st. However, the day belongs to John O'Brien who takes the Jean MacKay Trophy for a net eclectic score of 57.75, closely followed by Evan with 62 in 2nd place and Ian Ritchie with 62.25 in 3rd place. Eclectic Round 5 -
16/02/08
Saturday saw the 5th round of the winter eclectic at Reay Golf Club. With only one round to be played in March, Evan Sutherland and John O'Brien, separated in the standings by only 1.25 shots, came out on top on Saturday. The course gave up 8 birdies but maintained the honours with no one matching par. In 4th place, two behind the winner, on a credible 72 was Cammie Ross. In 3rd place on 71 was Fred Groves one behind John O'Brien and Evan Sutherland. Evan took the honours on count-back from John. So the race is now on for the final places in the eclectic. With only 3 shots separating the top 5 places, after 5 rounds, and with any of the 5 capable of shaving that number from their score the scene is set for a tight finish in March.
Eclectic Round 2 -
10/11/07
This round of the winter Eclectic was played in dreadful weather conditions, but at least it was played. There were only seven birdies and no surprise to find the second playing as the hardest hole, but definitely a surprise to find the 18th the easiest par. Although conditions were difficult scoring was actually quite good. Don C.Mackay ventured out for 79-8-71 with a fine birdie two at the 15th. Cammie Ross 78-8-70 was fourth and slipped in a birdie two at the tricky 9th hole. Picking up third place was Alex Mackay 86-18-68 who also made a birdie two at the 9th. Lying second was Bruce Mackay 77-10-67 who seems to play his best golf in the winter months and certainly is an expert in the Eclectic throwing in three birdies at the 5th and in a very strong finish the 16th and the 17th to just miss out by a shot. The man with the lowest gross was seasoned veteran Ian Ritchie 76-10-66 prowling round the course and bagging a birdie at the 12th in two fine halves of 38 shots. After two rounds and three eights handicap applied the comfortable leader is John O'Brien with a score of 63.75. With 68.25 and second is Bruce Mackay and in third with 69.25 is Graeme Dunnett. As the rounds progress John will find it more difficult to improve his score and the field will eat away at his lead with many able to make significant improvements. Eclectic Round 1 -
20/10/07
The first of the Winter Eclectics threw up some good scoring with 25 birdies and an eagle in the mix. The hardest hole was the first and the 6th came in as the easiest par. The 18th, 16th and the 6th gave up four birdies each and the 6th surrendered 5 as the greens were in excellent condition as players took advantage to score. Jerry Abbott made birdie at the second and John Disbury at the 16th but both wilted a bit by the end. Birdies at the 14th fell to Ian Ritchie, Donald Mowat, Chris Hobson and Bob Earnshaw. Peter McCartney and Grant Maxwell both made birdie at the 6th and Bruce Mackay had a great finish with a birdie at the 18th. Scoring was good and four shared 6th place with par figures. Alistair Gunn had a steady round of 76-7-69 as did Jock Eunson 80-11-69 with a birdie at the 6th. Ian Ritchie 79-10-69 made birdie at the 14th. Brad Smith finding some good form for 73-4-69 had a treble with birdies at the 6th, 11th and the 16th. There was a great battle for third place and after the count back it was Fred Groves who prevailed with 76-8-68 which included a pair of birdie two's at the 15th and the 18th in a very strong back 9. Fred had equal halves of 38 with no serious blemish on a fine card. Wayne Mowat settled for fourth with 74-6-68 and birdies at the 6th and the 15th. Graeme Dunnett 70-2-68 had the best gross score which included three birdies beginning at the 4th and 5th in a super outward nine of 33 after making bogey at the first. Graeme started the back nine with a bogey and slipped up again at the 14th but made birdie at the 16th to be back in 37 for an excellent round of 70. The highlight of the day had to go to Evan Sutherland 81-8-73 with a hole in one at the 5th after coming off a double bogey at the 4th. Evan hit a 9 iron which only needed one bounce before it disappeared down the hole to write the magical one on the card. Danny O'Hagan 83-16-67 who rarely misses a fairway had a super round for second place and finished with a cracking birdie two at the 18th. The winner was Club Champion John O'Brien 72-6-66 displaying great course management and putting well on immaculate greens for four birdies. Out in 38 John made birdie at the 9th following a double bogey at the 8th. Then came a wonderful run for 34 on the back nine particularly the last four holes with scores of 3,3,3,2 the card looked magnificent as the last three holes were all birdies. Medal (March) -
08/03/08
Saturday saw the final Winter Medal at Reay Golf Club and a clear winner of the Donald Carmichael Memorial Trophy. Nineteen members braved the weather conditions on Saturday with 11 of the field scoring net 72 or better and bagging 7 of the 9 birdies scored on the day. In 4th and 5th places were Stuart Greig and Murdo MacDonald with 81(10)71 and 83(12)71 respectively. In 3rd place was John O'Brien with 76(6)70 and birdies at the long 4th and 12th holes just one shot behind Grant Coghill 82(13)69 including a birdie at the 13th. The clear winner on the day with sub par figures of 75(8)67 and a birdie at the 14th was Steve Efemey. The other birdies went to Lee Parnell (14th), Grant Maxwell (11th and 12th), Colin Stewart (14th) and Les Patrick (16th). O'Brien's consistency in the Donald Carmichael Memorial Trophy ensured his win over the 6 winter medals with 3 70's in his four counting rounds total of 276. He was closely followed by Donald Mowat, 279 and Ian Ritchie 281 respectively. Medal (January) -
05/01/08 The first competition of 2008 was the January Medal, played in cold but pleasant conditions. The course gave up only six birdies on the day, all in the Division 1 category, with three of these falling to John O'Brien. In division 1 Grant Maxwell with a birdie at the 17th came in a credible 3rd place with 77(6)71, close behind John O'Brien with birdies at the 13th, 15th and 16th coming second with 76(6)70. The winner of the division was Donald Mowat with a birdie at the 3rd and a total of 77(9)68. Division 2 was decided on the dreaded countback with Ian Sutherland 87(17)70 winning out over Sandy Chisholm 82(12)70. Medal (December) -
01/12/07
The weather was fine if somewhat cold and the early starters had to contend with the frost which made the greens a bit hard. The 18th was the hardest par to make in a tough finish and the 14th was the easiest par giving up five birdies as well. There was a total of 16 birdies and the very unusual statistic of 6 players tying for the lowest scratch score. Grant Maxwell was having a real tough day at the office but still made a birdie at the 14th before he succumbed. Sandy Chisholm was another struggling but still managed to birdie the 13th. There were welcome birdies at the 14th for Lee Parnell, Ian Ritchie and Colin Stewart. John O'Brien birdied the 16th and Graeme Dunnett had two with putts dropping in at the 4th and a two at the 18th. The best scratch score of 76 was shared by 6 players, Graeme Dunnett 76-2-74, Lee Parnell 76-5-71, John O'Brien 76-6-70, Fred Groves 76-8-68, Donald Mowat 76-9-67 and Murray McGlasson 76-10-66 which must be a record at Reay. In fourth place Kenny Farmer 84-16-68 had to be separated from Fred Groves 76-8-68 by the countback and as Fred had three birdies on the back nine at the 10th, 13th and 14th he took fourth comfortably. With a birdie at the 6th Donald Mowat 76-9-67 finished up in third place. Murray McGlasson 76-10-66 was second with another display of power driving and three birdies from off the green at the 10th, 15th and the 18th. The December Medal went to youngster Allyn Sutherland 80-16-64 in a very steady performance. Medal (November) -
03/11/07
Conditions were excellent for the Reay Medal with some really good scoring. The Course Analysis showed a total of 20 birdies were potted with the second hole as the hardest hole with only 3 pars, this was followed by the 4th with 2 pars and the first with 3 pars making it a very tough opening. The 6th hole surrendered 5 birdies and there were three each at the 14th and the 16th and as always the easiest par came in at the fifth hole. The 5th and 6th is a good opportunity to get a round back on track after a difficult start. Birdies came at the 13th for Alistair Gunn, a two at the 5th for Ian Ritchie, and Sandy Chisholm at the 6th. Graeme Dunnett with a good gross of 74 made a pair of birdies at the 12th and the 16th in a strong back 9. John Nicolson also made a brace with birdies at the 7th and the 14th. Also in a strong finish with birdies at the 14th and the 16th was Gavin Gunn who was having a tough day at the office. Par rounds came from Murdo MacDonald 81-12-69 and David Mackay 77-8-69 to share fourth place but Snapper had three birdies in his round with putts dropping at the 3rd, 6th and the 14th to be out in 39 and home in 38. There was a powerful display of big hitting golf from Murray McGlasson 78-10-68 in a superb round for third place out in 41 and home in 37 with a fine hat trick of birdies falling in at the 3rd, 6th and the tricky 17th. Second place went to Bill McIntosh 87-20-67 who for once kept a big number of his card and with the worst score a 6 used his handicap well to nearly pinch the medal. The November Medal went to Club Champion John O'Brien 72-6-66 in a fantastic round with the lowest gross of 72 on the day. John was out in 36 with a little purple patch with back to back birdies at the 5th and 6th having dropped shots at the 2nd and 4th. John was untidy at the 8th and dropped another shot there. Two bogeys saw a poor start to the back 9 but a birdie at the 12th restored the balance and another at the 16th made a total of four birdies for the day and 36 shots for the back 9. In the race for the Donald Carmichael trophy which is awarded for the best scores over the six winter medals Colin Stewart is the front runner after two rounds. Within striking distance are Graeme Dunnett, Bill McIntosh, Ian Sutherland, Chris Hobson and Ian Ritchie. With four monthly medals still to go this trophy is very much up for grabs and is much coveted as it shows consistent performance over 6 months. Medal (October) -
04/10/07
Conditions were very good for the October Medal and not many took advantage. The second hole once again was the toughest par to make and only four did, and the ninth was the easiest par. There were only nine birdies. Alistair Gunn made birdie at the 14th but let the home stretch get the better of him and fell out of contention. John Disbury had a good front nine with a birdie at the eighth but was another who let the back nine slip away. Brad Smith made a two at the ninth and Gavin Gunn made birdie at the 6th. Cammie Ross 77-8-69 made par figures with a birdie at the 16th. Ian Sutherland 86-17-69 and Bill Budding 81-12-69 also had tidy par rounds. Sharing fourth place was Andy Bain 82-14-68 and the wily Alec Anderson 78-10-68 with a great start making back to back birdies at the 3rd and 4th to break par. Colin Stewart 76-11-65 had a superb round cracking in birdies at the 14th and the 17th in a very strong finish and nearly had the medal in his grasp but ended up in third place. Playing partner Stuart Greig 75-11-64 had the lowest gross to go one better making few errors and had one hand on the medal but had to settle for the runner up position. Coming in one shot better still was the old salt Chris Hobson 76-13-63 with nearly an error free round to grab the medal and the first trophy of the winter programme. Split Stone (East v West)
Challenge -
30/12/07
The last competition at Reay Golf Club in 2007 was the East West challenge for the Split Stone Trophy. The two teams, led by Alistair Gunn for the East and Murdo MacDonald for the West, in a Four Ball Better Ball matchplay fought in good spirit. At the end of the day the points ended up 3-3 with the East winning through, for the first time, by one hole. Stableford - Round 5 -
06/01/08 Sunday saw the eventual playing of the Winter League Stableford 5, again in cold but pleasant conditions. The players had obviously benefitted from play the day before as the course gave up a total of 16 birdies. Gavin Gunn had birdies at the 14th and 16th, Ian Sutherland a birdie at the 5th, Ian Ritchie birdies at the 6th 13th and 15th, Richard MacDonald birdie at the 17th, Sandy Chisholm birdies at the 5th and 15th, Alistair Gunn in 3rd place on36 points with back to back birdies at the 15th and 16th, Donald Mowat in 2nd place on 37 points and in 1st place was Lee Parnell with birdies at the 2nd, 6th, 7th, 14th, and 17th, a sparkling gross score of 67 net 62 and a stableford total of 43. Stableford - Round 2 -
17/11/07
The weather was not exactly the best but the scoring was nevertheless impressive with 15 birdie putts falling in the can, notably 4 at the sixth. As is the norm the second was the toughest hole to make par and the 15th was the easiest par. Stuart Greig (10) made a birdie at the 6th and Sandy Chisholm (12) made his birdie at the 14th. Colin Stewart (10) had a fine steady par round for 36 points. Bruce Mackay (10) finding his customary winter form shot 37 points and a pair of birdies at the 6th and the 9th in a good outward half. There was a great battle for third spot as three shared 38 points. Getting the nod after the countback was Grant Maxwell (6) who had a great personal haul of birdies, four in total, sinking birdie putts at the 5th, 6th, 13th and the grandstand finish with a two at the eighteenth. Ian Ritchie (10) with a birdie at the 6th and Jock Eunson (11) were the two who lost out but both are still well in the hunt with 10 rounds to go. Murdo Macdonald (12) had a great round for his 39 points with birdies at the 5th and 16th to make second place his own. The in form man with a cracking 40 points was Donald Mowat (9) crashing in three birdies at the 12th, 14th and the 18th in a great back nine and dives into an early led for the trophy. Stableford - Round 1 -
27/10/07
The weather was threatening rain however most made it round the course before it started and the field produced a total of 18 birdies. The first once again proved to be the hardest hole to make a par in a tough start and the 6th was the easiest par, also giving up 5 birdies. Stableford format means you can't nil return which gave a bit of respite to a few strugglers who could at least return a score and stay in the competition. There was a birdie for Bob Earnshaw at the 8th and Ian Sutherland made a nice two at the 5th to smarten up his card. The 6th gave up a birdie for Bruce Mackay and Evan Sutherland. Two made par rounds of 36 points and these were Wayne Mowat and John O'Brien. John O'Brien (6) had a great day on the greens sinking no less than 5 birdies which came at the 4th, 6th, and then on the back nine at the 11th, 13th and 14th in a strong finish. Wayne Mowat (6) also had birdies at the 6th and the 16th in a tidy round. There was a three way tie on 37 points for second place and once the dust had settled it was Jock Eunson (11) who had the best back nine with birdies at the 12th and 18th for the second berth. Ian Ritchie (10) settled for third with a birdie two at the 5th. Fourth was Donald Mowat (9) making a good birdie at the 6th. Leading the way was seasoned campaigner (12) with birdies at the 4th and the 17th for 39 points and establishes himself as the front runner with another 11 rounds to go. Texas Scramble -
09/03/08 Sunday's Texas Scramble was quite popular with 36 players turning out on what was a quiet day for this March. Playing in teams of three, with four ladies joining in on the day, the Scramble format always produces low gross scores and this one was no different with the lowest gross of 61 from E Sutherland, D C MacKay and D A Mackay. This was not however to be a winning score and in 3rd place on 58.2 was the team of Parnell, Stewart and Sootar behind Sutherland, MacKay and MacKay on 57.4 who were piped by McGlasson, Efemey and McDonald on 57. End-of-Document |
