Report and scores from North-east Golfers' Alliance meeting

EAGLE LANDS CRUDEN BAY

PRIZE FOR TERRY MATHIESON

Murcar Links’ +2 amateur Terry Mathieson scored his second North-east Golfers’ Alliance win in four weeks with a three-under-par 67 in well-night perfect sunny conditions at Cruden Bay Golf Club today.
The hole that separated Terry, pictured right, from the field of 96 was the 14th where he drove the winter green – a hit of around 280yd – and holed a 20ft putt for an eagle 2.
Earlier he had birdied the seventh, eighth and 12th with shots dropped at the ninth and 11th but he also had a victory-clinching par 4 at the last by holing another 20ft putt after driving into a bush and having to take a lift and drop penalty.

Mathieson, quarter-finalist in last year's Scottish amateur championship at Nairn, a semi-finalist at Western Gailes in 2002 and beaten finalist in last season's Scottish mid-amateur championship, is not far short of Scottish international team class - but this coming season might be the last for him to win a cap.

He feels he is coming up to the age when it will be now or never in having a go to see if his amateur skills transfer to the professional ranks.
Joint runners-up on 68 were two professionals, Neil Murray (Cruden Bay) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo). Both men bogeyed the 17th. In Fitzpatrick’s case it was a three-putt green.

A gallant fourth on 69 was Murcar Links professional Gary Forbes, playing for the first time since he strained muscles in an arm and walked in from the ninth at the Alliance meeting over his home course two weeks ago. Gary blotted his inward half with a double-bogey 7 at 13th in the middle of a run of birdies at the 12th, 14th and 15th.

The best inward half of the day was produced by four-handicap Murcar Links member Sandy Innes. Sandy went out in four-over-par 40 but came rattling home in only 30 strokes, four under par.

"That's the lowest nine-hole score I've ever had," said Sandy. "I reckon I had only 13 putts for the inward half."
Host club steward John Roberts, who plays off seven, won the Class 1 handicap top award with a net 65. John was joint 12th overall in the scratch returns on the 72 mark.
Next week's meeting at Duff House Royal is the first round of the 36-hole NE Alliance championship. Fraserburgh will host the second round on March 21.

Leading returns (par 70)

SCRATCH
67 T Mathieson (Murcar Links).
68 N Murray (Cruden Bay) p, R Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo) p.
69 G Forbes (Murcar Links) p.
70 N Reid (Deeside) ap, R Hyland (Hazlehead), A Innes (Murcar Links).
71 D Yeats (Newmachar), C Stephen (Meldrum House), S Finnie (Caledonian), S Fraser (Northern).
72 J Roberts (Cruden Bay), R Stewart (Cruden Bay) p, A K Pirie (Hazlehead) s, E Kennedy (Stonehaven).
73 G Grimmer (Nigg Bay), I Bratton (Newburgh), C Nelson (MacKenzie Club) p, S Murray (Aspire) p, F Bisset (Banchory), R McDonald (Kemnay).
74 W Main (Murcar Links), I Welsh (Nigg Bay).
75 J Nicholson (Auchmill), S Chalmers (Banchory) ap, M Barnard (Inchmarlo) ap, D Nelson (Aboyne) s.
76 P Morrison (Oldmeldrum), C Cassie (Nigg Bay), M Kidd (Newburgh), S Kidd (Newburgh), R L Nicoll (Murcar Links) s, D Wilson (Duff House Royal), S Davidson (Banchory) p, L Barbour (Cruden Bay).
77 D Corkey (East Aberdeenshire), W S Urquhart (Murcar Links) s, A Nelson (Banchory), C Alexander (Murcar Links) s, D Leighton (Murcar Links), N Parker (Murcar Links) s.
78 D McKay (Caledonian).
79 F Barclay (Kintore), B Harper (Newburgh), S Scott (Auchmill), K Smith (Aboyne), A Graham (Portlethen).

HANDICAP
Class 1 – J Roberts (Cruden Bay) (7) 65; A Innes (Murcar Links) (4) 66; C Cassie (Nigg Bay) (8), M Kidd (Newburgh) (8) 68; T Mathieson (Murcar Links) (+2), F Bisset (Banchory) (4), D Nelson (Aboyne) (6) s, S Kidd (Newburgh) (7) 69; A K Pirie (Hazlehead) (2) s, S Fraser (Northern) (1) 70; D Yeats (Newmachar) (scr), S Finnie (Caledonian) (scr), G Grimmer (Nigg Bay) (2), J Nicolson (Auchmill) (4), P Morrison (Oldmeldrum) (5), R L Nicoll (Murcar Links) (5) s, D Wilson (Duff House Royal) (5), N Parker (Murcar Links (6) s, D McKay (Caledonian) (7) s, A Buchan (Northern) (9) 71.
Class 2 – R Addison (Newburgh) (18) s 68; J Jessiman (Oldmeldrum) (14) s, B Lumsden (Northern) (16) 69; R Alison (Deeside) (13) s, K Duncan (Cruden Bay) (12) 71; D Moir (Murcar Links) (12), G Travis (Auchmill)( (5) 72; D Wood (Newburgh) (14) s 73; J Robb (Turriff) (11) 74; M F R Rogers (Kemnay) (14) s 75; I Strachan (Royal Aberdeen) (11) s, G Homer (Lumphanan (12), J Jones (Craibstone) (16) s 76; D Randall (Banchory) (11) s 77; H McNaughton (Cruden Bay) (10), W Forbes (Murcar Links) (15) s 78; N A Ogston (Turriff) (11) s 79.

p denotes professional; ap assistant professional; s senior.

SCORECARD FOR CRUDEN BAY - Par 70

OUT: 4-4-4-4-3-4-5-4-4-4-36. IN: 4-3-4-5-4-3-3-4-4-34

TERRY MATHIESON 67

OUT: 4-4-4-3-4-5-3-3-5-35. IN: 4-4-3-5-2-3-3-4-4-32

NEIL MURRAY 68

OUT: 5-4-3-3-4-4-4-3-4-34. IN: 4-3-3-5-4-3-3-5-4-34

RYAN FITZPATRICK 68

OUT: 4-4-3-4-4-4-4-3-5-35. IN: 3-3-3-5-5-2-3-5-4-33

GARY FORBES 69

OUT: 4-4-3-4-5-5-4-3-4-36. IN: 5-3-3-7-3-2-3-4-3-33

SANDY INNES 70

OUT: 4-4-4-5-4--5-5-5-4-40. IN: 4-2-3-5-3-3-3-4-3-30

NICK REID 70

OUT: 4-4-4-3-5-4-4-4-3-35. IN: 3-3-4-5-4-5-3-4-4-35

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com