North Alliance report and scores

Munro Ferries wins at Tarbat with a 66

By ROBIN WILSON
After weeks of missed fixtures and inclement weather, Tain's Munro Ferries hit the front for the fourth time this season when the North Alliance visited Tarbat on Sunday.
There was no sign of the snow and frosts that have plagued the January and February fixture calendar when the +2 handicapper returned a stunning gross 66 by matching par on his first nine holes and scoring 32 on his second time around the nine-hole course.

Ferries had three second-round birdies - the 11th, 15th and 17th holes - and just the one bogey at the 12th. The 66, his best winning score out of his three previous wins, lifts the “lefty“ into a strong position to retain the Scratch Quaich by returning the season's “best of four” gross aggregate score.
The Tain club champion won by two strokes from Thurso's Alan Swanson (pictured left on first tee by Robin Wilson) who matched the par of 68 (35-33) in a six-birdie round that began with the weight of a two-shot penalty on his card for playing a wrong ball at the opening hole. Thurso's Jim Sangster had a gross 70 for third place.
Local member Hamish Skinner was first out on the course and when he returned with his gross card of 74 (35-39), his net 65 in Class 1 was still the winning score at the end of play.

Tain's Andrew Watt has been a consistent scorer all season but his consistency left him at one hole during his first round. A triple bogey 6 at the par-3 fifth hole was included in his first nine of 39 but, back to normal,his second nine was 35 for a gross 74, which gave him second place with a net 66.

MacKintosh Salver holder, Seann Sutherland (Bonar- Bridge) shared a net 68 with a former salver winner, Alec Gunn (Tain) with Gunn getting the third place on the better last nine hole card play-off.
Durness club members provided the two leading scores in Class 2. Both were 65s and Billy McBain after a first place at Royal Dornoch claimed a second success in this section and put himself in the frame for a trophy when he beat clubmate Alister Corbett on the count back. Third place went to Ian Ross (Reay) with net 66.
The fixtures stay on track this weekend at Brora and on the weekend of March 20-21 there will be two fixtures played to catch up on lost dates - Golspie on Saturday the 20th with limited tee times available up until 11.30am, and the next day the scheduled final fixture and presentation of prizes at Reay.
Results

Scratch

66 M Ferries (Tain).

68 A Swanson (Thurso).

70 J Sangster (Thurso).

74 B Ronald (Thurso), A Gunn (Tain), A Watt (Tain), H Skinner (Tarbat).

76 S Holmes (Tain), M MacKintosh (Brora).

Handicap

Class 1 – H Skinner (Tarbat) (9) 65; A Watt (Tain) (7) 67; A Gunn (Tain) (6) 68; S R Sutherland (Bonar-Bridge) (8) 68.

Class 2 – B McBain (Durness) (19) 65; A Corbett ((Durness) (16) 65; I Ross (Reay) (11) 66.