NORTH ALLIANCE
Billy Ferries' 71 good enough to win at Reay
By ROBIN WILSON
Ross-shire-based Billy Ferries from Tain broke the run of Thurso winners when the latest North Golf Alliance fixture was switched to Reay Golf Club. Ferries headed the biggest entry of the season with a two-over-par return of 71 to prevent the previous fixture's winner, Dougie Thorburn (Thurso), repeating his Invergordon success.
It was the Tain member's first Alliance entry of the year, indeed his first competitive round since September but he played the first six holes as if his clubs had never been in his locker. Three under par after six holes before a bogey at the eighth showed little sign of rust in an outward half of 32.
More blemishes cropped up, beginning with an inward start of bogeys at 10 and 11 before staving off his decline with a run of par figures, only to come to a close from a lost ball at the 16th hole and an inward total of 39, but sufficient to win by one shot from Thorburn, the Thurso scratch player.
The winner's younger brother, Munro Ferries, winner of last season's scratch aggregate trophy, already has two second place finishes this season in his bid to defend the trophy and at Reay he took a joint third place with Wick's Ronnie Taylor. Both returned identical cards of 73 (36-37), Taylor a final slip on the last green where he missed a putt of 15 inches which cost him a share of second.
The fixture was changed from Thurso to Reay due to the previous week's rain making the Thurso course unplayable but Ian Mitchell did keep the Thurso flag flying with a first place in Category 1, matching the course SSS of 69 after a gross 75 and finishing two shots in front of two former winners of the handicap Salver, Mike Keay (Tarbat) and Seann Sutherland (Bonar-bridge). Both were on 71, with Keay awarded second place after countback while Sutherland made his first move in defence of the salver.
Best handicap score of the day was a superb 66 from William Thain (Lybster), a four-stroke winner of the Category 2 section ahead of two members of the Mackay clan, Donnie from Durness and Andy from Reay.
No fixture last weekend due to the Remembrance Services. The next outing is at Royal Dornoch on Sunday, November 21 before a return to Caithness and Wick's Reiss course on December 5.
RESULTS AT REAY
Scratch
71 B Ferries (Tain)
72 D Thorburn (Thurso)
73 M Ferries (Tain), R W Taylor (Wick)
74 B Ronald (Thurso)
75 J A Harper (Wick)
76 D A Mackay (Reay)
77 A Swanson (Thurso), J Sangster (Thurso)
78 L Parnell (Reay).
Handicap
Category 1 (scr-9)
I Mitchell (Thurso) (6) 69; M Keay (Tarbat) (8), S Sutherland (Bonar-Bridge) (8) 71; J A Harper (Wick) (3) 72; L Parnell (Reay) (5) 73.
Category 2 (10-28)
W Thain (Lybster) (10) 66; D Mackay (Durness) (10), A Mackay (Reay) (10) 70; P McCartney (Reay) (14), S Mackay (Durness) (16) 71.
By ROBIN WILSON
Ross-shire-based Billy Ferries from Tain broke the run of Thurso winners when the latest North Golf Alliance fixture was switched to Reay Golf Club. Ferries headed the biggest entry of the season with a two-over-par return of 71 to prevent the previous fixture's winner, Dougie Thorburn (Thurso), repeating his Invergordon success.
It was the Tain member's first Alliance entry of the year, indeed his first competitive round since September but he played the first six holes as if his clubs had never been in his locker. Three under par after six holes before a bogey at the eighth showed little sign of rust in an outward half of 32.
More blemishes cropped up, beginning with an inward start of bogeys at 10 and 11 before staving off his decline with a run of par figures, only to come to a close from a lost ball at the 16th hole and an inward total of 39, but sufficient to win by one shot from Thorburn, the Thurso scratch player.
The winner's younger brother, Munro Ferries, winner of last season's scratch aggregate trophy, already has two second place finishes this season in his bid to defend the trophy and at Reay he took a joint third place with Wick's Ronnie Taylor. Both returned identical cards of 73 (36-37), Taylor a final slip on the last green where he missed a putt of 15 inches which cost him a share of second.
The fixture was changed from Thurso to Reay due to the previous week's rain making the Thurso course unplayable but Ian Mitchell did keep the Thurso flag flying with a first place in Category 1, matching the course SSS of 69 after a gross 75 and finishing two shots in front of two former winners of the handicap Salver, Mike Keay (Tarbat) and Seann Sutherland (Bonar-bridge). Both were on 71, with Keay awarded second place after countback while Sutherland made his first move in defence of the salver.
Best handicap score of the day was a superb 66 from William Thain (Lybster), a four-stroke winner of the Category 2 section ahead of two members of the Mackay clan, Donnie from Durness and Andy from Reay.
No fixture last weekend due to the Remembrance Services. The next outing is at Royal Dornoch on Sunday, November 21 before a return to Caithness and Wick's Reiss course on December 5.
RESULTS AT REAY
Scratch
71 B Ferries (Tain)
72 D Thorburn (Thurso)
73 M Ferries (Tain), R W Taylor (Wick)
74 B Ronald (Thurso)
75 J A Harper (Wick)
76 D A Mackay (Reay)
77 A Swanson (Thurso), J Sangster (Thurso)
78 L Parnell (Reay).
Handicap
Category 1 (scr-9)
I Mitchell (Thurso) (6) 69; M Keay (Tarbat) (8), S Sutherland (Bonar-Bridge) (8) 71; J A Harper (Wick) (3) 72; L Parnell (Reay) (5) 73.
Category 2 (10-28)
W Thain (Lybster) (10) 66; D Mackay (Durness) (10), A Mackay (Reay) (10) 70; P McCartney (Reay) (14), S Mackay (Durness) (16) 71.
Labels: Alliance
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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