  :: CLUB NEWS...
:: Club Fund @...
:: How Did I Do???
:: Golf links
|
 Club Championship & Monthly Medals - Season 2008-2009
Club Championship Final Results -
18 July 08 It was Club Championship time at Thurso Golf Club last week with the quarter finals on Monday, the semi finals on Wednesday and the finals on Friday. The qualifying rounds for the scratch competition resulted in Thurso's Wilson Cup team members Doug Thorburn, Brent Munro, Alan Swanson and Jim Sangster qualifying in that order and all were to make it safely through to Wednesday's semi-finals with Thorburn beating Innes Mitchell, Sangster beating Don Mackay, Swanson beating Ron Matheson and Munro beating Warren Gordon. The qualifying order was maintained on Wednesday with Thorburn proving too strong for Sangster and Munro overcoming Swanson.
Friday's final between Dougie Thorburn and Brent Munro began in dreadful weather conditions that improved a bit after the first few holes and judging by the scoring, the players generally mastered them. After the first three holes were halved in par Thorburn went ahead with a birdie at the fourth but a twenty foot downhill putt for a birdie at the next hole got Munro back to all square. He followed this up with a poor drive at the sixth to allow the defending champion back to one up. Thorburn played the seventh and eighth brilliantly to go three up. He got on in two at the eighth to earn a birdie and drove the green at the next and holed the putt for an eagle. He showed that he can mistakes at the next where he three putted to allow his rival, a former club champion himself, back to two down. The first five holes on the inward nine were halved in par with both players missing birdie opportunities. After both players were short on the par three fourteenth, Munro missed a three foot par putt to go three down. Munro had a chance to reduce the deficit at the fifteenth but missed another relatively short putt to be dormie three down. Both players were just short of the green at the long sixteenth so Munro really had to hole his chip shot but missed by inches allowing Thorburn to claim his fourth club championship with a par.
It is only right that the scratch event is given centre stage in the club championships but there was huge interest in the outcome of this year's handicap final that paired previous winner Stephen King against veteran Jim Buchan. King reached the final by overcoming Jimmy Manson on Monday and Charlie Burness on Wednesday. Burness having beaten Alan Kennedy. Buchan had to go to the nineteenth on Monday to get the better of Terry Mackay and followed this up with a victory over fellow senior Ian Fraser on Wednesday. Lachie Sutherland was the other beaten quarter finalist. After halving the first hole, the players won alternative holes all the way to the turn to be all square. Buchan then raced into a three hole lead after 12 holes and this was still the position after 14 holes. After an excellent drive, King won the fifteenth to go two down and got up and down at the sixteenth to stay that way. He then showed his fighting qualities with a superb par at the seventeenth to reduce the deficit to one going to the last hole. Both players hit good drives on the eighteenth. Buchan hit his approach to the front of the green but King was a little strong and just went over the back of the green. Buchan putted up to three feet, King's chip was a bit short but he holed a great putt for a par four. Buchan was not to be denied though as he calmly holed his putt for victory. This was the first championship win for the 76 year old who is now in his 61st year of playing golf and has contributed so much to the Thurso club, especially through his work with the juniors.
The senior final was between Bob Black, champion a couple of years ago, and Ronnie Gray. Black got there by beating Alan Simmonite, in the quarter final and Donald Jack in the semi final while, through no fault of his own, Gray got straight into the final as both his semi final opponent Alf Williamson and semi final opponent Bob Robertson were forced to withdraw. The final was a topsy turvy affair. All square after the fourth after an exchange of a couple of holes, Gray won three of the next four holes to go three up. Black then won four holes on the trot to go one up only to be brought back to all square after 14 holes. After the fifteenth was halved, Black won the sixteenth to go one up but was immediately brought back to all square after Gray won the seventeenth. Both players hit good drives up the eighteenth and Gray produced an excellent second shot to six feet from the pin. Black's approach was not so good and he left himself with some work to do to get his par. Gray missed his birdie putt but Black also missed his one for par and so this year's senior champion is Ronnie Gray. all photos and video from Alan Swanson
End-of-Document |
click to access ALL stats.
Video Footage is available of the
closing hole in the Scratch event -
