Leading Sutherland county championship prizewinners at Brora. Left to right: Bronze medallist James MacBeath, champion Chris Mailley, former Sutherland champion George Sutherland, handicap title winner George Rutherford and Ken Lorimer, Brora club captain. Image by Robin Wilson.

NORTH COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP

BY ROBIN WILSON

Caithness
First time winner of the Caithness county championship, Alan Swanson (Thurso), a member of the host club, benefited from a quick start to his second round with three birdies through the first four holes.

A fourth birdie at the eighth hole for a super outward half card of four under par 31 set him up for a gross two-under-par 67 and make up the lost ground on clubmate Doug Thorburn, the first-round leader with a 70.
Swanson added his 67 to a first-round 76 for 143 to tie Thorburn who fell back to a second round 73 which included a title-losing out of bounds drive at the final hole for a double bogey 6. Swanson was declared the new Caithness county champion on the better second round score rule.

Thurso results

CSS 70 70 (All Thurso players)
Scratch

143 A Swanson 76 67, D Thorburn 70 73.

147 P Sangster 73 74.

150 G Calder 72 78.

Handicap

P Sangster (5) 137, G. Calder (6) 138, A Simpson (17) 140.

Ross-shire
Local three handicapper Graham Gordon, a police officer with Northern Constabulary, stalked from behind with a second round, two under par 65 to catch the first round leader and capture the Ross-shire county championship for the first time over his home Strathpeffer Spa course.
In the lead from a first round 68 was Invergordon's Glen McAlpine, followed by clubmate and 2006 winner, Alan Gilmour, on 68.
Gordon surged to the front with a second round outward half of 31 which included a run of six 3s in succession from second to eighth and a birdie at the ninth. He came home in two under par 34 for 65 and the winning total of 136.

Gilmour took the bronze medal after a second round 69 for 137.
Strathpeffer Spa results:
CSS 66 65
Scratch

136 G Gordon (Strathpeffer Spa) 71 65.

137 A Gilmour (Invergordon) 68 69, G McAlpine (Invergordon) 66 71.

139 M McNab (Strathpeffer Spa) 64 65, M Bartlet (Strathpeffer Spa) 71 68.

Handicap

(All Strathpeffer Spa players)

S Duff (8) , N Dow (18) 127; L Manson (9) 128; M McNab (5 ) 129.

Sutherland
Royal Dornoch's Chris Mailley was an 18-year-old when he won his first Sutherland county championship at Golspie in 2001 and had to wait another seven years before a repeat at his home club last year.

But this year, now 26, he retained the cup at Brora with two quick rounds of 66 and 68, each completed in under 3 ½ hours
Highlight of Mailley's first round was three birdies in succession from the sixth to the eighth holes in an outward half of 31, helped by and putting stats of 21 for the round.

In the second round, Mailley was still holding a three shot lead over playing partner James MacBeath when MacBeath faltered at the 12th hole with a double bogey.

Mailley strung together another hat-trick of birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th to cruise home with a one under par 68 for 134 and a nine-shot win over the local player.
Handicap winner was the oldest player in the field, George Rutherford (66) from Blairgowrie, a Scottish boys international in 1960. In his 50 years as a non-resident member at Brora, this was the first time he broke 70 - a gross 69 to better his first round 80 by 11 shots and a net total of 139.
Brora results:

CSS 70 70

Scratch

134 C Mailley (Royal Dornoch) 66 68.

143 J G MacBeath (Brora) 69 74.

146 D Holden (Royal Dornoch) 75 71.

147 G Grant (Brora) 72 75.

148 N Munro (Royal Dornoch) 73 75.

149 G M Rutherford (Brora) 80 69, L MacDonald (Brora) 75 74, R S Cameron (Brora) 75 74.
Handicap

G M Rutherford (Brora) (5), L MacDonald (Brora) (5), G Grant (Brora) (4) 139; N Munro (Royal Dornoch) (4) 140; C Sutherland (Royal Dornoch) (7) 142.