ELGIN WIN SENIOR NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP
FOR FIRST TIME WITH WIN OVER INVERNESS

By ROBIN WILSON

Brora Golf Club remain the only club to have won the B D Fraser Senior Northern Counties Cup twice after the 2004 winners, Inverness, lost in this year's final at Nairn Dunbar last week to first time winners, Elgin.
Tain and Strathpeffer Spa, Ross-shire’s only two clubs to have entered, were late withdrawals, having failed to muster a required four players. Strathpeffer’s withdrawal gave Elgin after a first-round win over Turriff a clear run through to the quarter-finals where they beat former winners Cruden Bay and then other former winners, Duff House Royal, in the semi-finals for a place in the final.
Holders Brora's hopes of a third win were ended by Duff House Royal in the second round and in the same round Royal Dornoch were ousted by a Cruden Bay second team.
The format is that both sets of foursomes play to the final green for a combined holes position and the final match was so tight that it came down to two crucial putts on the 18th green.
Both games were in an all-square position playing the final hole. Inverness’s first couple Fraser Urquhart and Gordon Fraser had a putt to remain level with Elgin’s Bryce Milne and Jimmy Innes but Gordon Fraser’s attempt from about eight feet slipped past to put the Elgin pair one up.
Arriving behind in the second pairing for Inverness were Jocky Thomson and Jim Elliot against Elgin’s Doug Porter and Jim Lumb. Thomson for Inverness found the green in regulation to guarantee a par-5 while Elgin missed to the right. Porter chipped up to about the same distance as Inverness had missed from and Lumb became their hero when he downed the putt to half the hole and lift the cup for the first time.

NCLGA OPEN DAY AT STRATHPEFFER

The Northern Counties Ladies Golf Association had an open county day at Strathpeffer Spa last week when association president Isobel McIntosh (Inverness) returned the best gross score, a 78, beating her age by eight shots.
The Silver Division Handicap results were Lorraine Nixon (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (18) 61; Eilidh Syrjanen (Strathpeffer Spa) (13) 67; Maureen Ritchie (Muir of Ord) (17) 69.
Bronze Davison - Aline Drummond (Fortrose & Rosemarkie ) (22) 65.
The next NCLGA county open is a firstvisit to the Isle of Skye Golf Club at Sconsor.
Meanwhile a touring group of 21 Northern members from Orkney arrived on the mainland on Monday to play at Royal Dornoch, Muir of Ord, Grantown on Spey, Inverness and Invergordon during the week.