DON MACKAY WINS NORTH ALLIANCE AT BRORA WITH A 70

By ROBIN WILSON

Brora Golf Club provided two excellent ingredients for a successful Winter Alliance fixture last Sunday, an early spring sunny day and a course that has wintered well and in excellent playing condition for the better than season's average of 50 Alliance members who turned up.

A cluster of low handicappers took advantage of both conditions, and although none of them broke the par of 69, there were six scratch returns, all within two shots of the winner, Reay's Don A Mackay (pictured left by Robin Wilson) who  headed the field with a one over par 70 ahead of four 71s and two 72s.

The Reay member has not had many outings this winter, and since his last aggregate Quaich win in season 2007/08 his handicap has risen from scratch to two, but on the completion of his first four holes at Brora he was playing to a plus rating at three under par, having birdied the first, second and fourth holes.

The sixth hole reminded him of his lack of match practice, fluffing a little chip and walking off with double bogey 5 but still reaching the turn in two under par 33.

Mackay had his fourth birdie of the outward half  at the shortened par five 8^th hole. Late in his round he slipped up for a second time with a double bogey on the penultimate hole but a finishing par 3 kept his inward count at 37 to get back into the winner's circle with very good 70.

The chasing pack of four on 71 were scratch aggregate leader Dougie Thorburn (Thurso) (37/34) (pictured left by Robin Wilson) his nearest challenger with similiar halves Munro Ferries (Tain), club mate Alan Swanson (Thurso) (36/35) and Ronnie Taylor (Wick)  (35/36).

Ferries and Swanson both finished off with birdie 2s at the 18^th hole  but it was Thorburn who got second place on his last six holes finish after Ferries also made double bogey 6 on the 17th.

Before that Ferries had bogeyed the second and fifth holes before settling into a run of par figures that ended with a birdie at the 15^th before blemishing his card  with a double bogey at the penultimate hole.

Wick's Taylor, who entered for the fourth time this season and was winner of the previous week's fixture on his home course, with a fabulous 66, might have left it too late to challenge for another Quaich triumph but now with a four score aggregate of 281 he is up beside Ferries in second place. The Tain plus one player's 71  took two shots off his previous total but Thurso's Thorburn also lowered his total at Brora by one to to 275 and now commands a six-shot lead going into the final two fixtures, Golspie on Sunday, and Tain on Sunday, March 20.

Alliance Secretary Tony Gill (Brora) was one of the 72s. His round did not really begin until after a birdie 3 at the 11^th hole which followed his fifth bogey of the day at the previous hole. It came from a  “J Arthur Rank”.

Gill's outward 38 after four slack bogeys was only rescued by a 4 at the eighth, a par 5 on the card but playing as a par-4 from a forward tee, but his level par on the back nine for 34 not only gave him a respectable scratch return but also a first place  in the Class 1 handicap from a net 67.

It was then three Caithness travellers members who took advantage of the fine greens. Alan Swanson's gross 71 turned into a net 69 to go ahead of Wick's John Hunter on the inward half countback ,despite Hunter's fighting 4-2 end to his round to make up for his bogeys at the 10^th, 13^th and 15th holes. Next up and also net 69 and also falling foul of the 17^th hole with a double bogey came David Dunbar (Thurso), followed by Andrew Watt (Tain) with a net 71 off 6.

Local Peter Etheridge helped the host club to a handicap double. Noted for being a slow starter, he had  only two par figures on his outward card of 42. His inward 39 grossed 81 and a net 68 saw him lead the Class 2 handicap section. Below him came Gavin Gunn (Reay), who had the best of the two 69s, resulting in local Shaun Ashe falling back to third and Martin Mackay (Durness) getting a fourth place on net 70.

Brora Results:

Scratch:

70 D A Mackay (Reay) 33-37.

71 D Thorburn (Thurso) 37-34, M Ferries (Tain) 37-34, A Swanson (Thurso) 36-35, R W Taylor (Wick) 35-36.

72 A J Gill (Brora) 38-34, B Ronald (Thurso) 34-38. 

74 J Hunter (Wick) 37-37, D Dunbar (Thurso) 39-35.

75 J Harper (Wick) 35-40. 

Handicap

Class 1 – A J Gill (Brora) (5) 67; A Swanson (Thurso) (2), J Hunter (Wick) (5), D Dunbar (Thurso) (5) 69; A Watt (Tain) (6) 71.

Class 2 – P Etheridge (Brora) (13) 68; G Gunn (Reay) (11), S Ashe (Brora) (13) 69; M Mackay (Durness) (10) 70.

Picture; Thurso's Dougie Thorburn winner of four North Alliance fixtures this season keeps up his trophy quest at Brora with a second place.