GREAT SCOTT IN FIRST ROUND OF N EAST ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

View from the clubhouse down the first hole at Duff House Royal (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency)

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Northern Open runner-up Scott Larkin picked himself up splendidly after last week’s failure to reach the match-play stages of the Spanish amateur championship at El Prat to establish a clear lead at the halfway stage of the North-east Alliance's 36-hole championship.

The Royal Aberdeen +3 amateur from Banchory shot a three-under-par 65 in the first round at Duff House Royal, Banff today to head a field of 108 in bitterly cold conditions (play started an hour late after an overnight covering of snow on the course had melted).
“I putted very well, which is surprising after struggling in Spain on the fastest greens I have ever played on,” said former US college circuit player Larkin (pictured right)
“Having said that, the longest putts I holed today were about the 15ft mark but there were a few of them.”
Larkin had six birdies – at the first, fifth, eighth, 10th, 14th and 18th - in halves of 34 and 31. He bogeyed the sixth, seventh and ninth.
Larkin, winner at three of the past six Alliance competitions, will start next week’s second and final round at Buckpool with a lead of three shots from Paul Lawrie’s 18-year-old nephew Sean Lawrie, pictured below, who plays off one at Portlethen.
Sean and his uncle and his cousin Craig spent a few days practising and playing in the sun on the Costa del Sol last week – and it paid off for young

Sean whose par 68 included a holed bunker shot at the short 16th for one of his four birdies. But for a double bogey 6 at the seventh he would have been breathing down leader Larkin's neck.
Paul Lawrie was a regular on the NE Alliance circuit in his formative years and famously won at Buckpool with a 10 on his card in 1999, a few months before his Open championship victory at Carnoustie.
Now an honorary member of the Alliance, Paul turned the clock back to play at Duff House Royal - and he matched nephew Sean's 68 to be joint second on the day's returns.
But Paul will not be playing at Buckpool next week because he will be in Sicily for the resumption of the European Tour.
Early starter Colin Nelson was the long-time clubhouse leader with a one over par 69 (35-34) which included birdies at the 10th and 12th but bogeys at the fourth, 15th and 16th.
Former Northern Open champion Peter Smith, now attached to Deeside GC in a coaching role, travelled north with Paul Lawrie and returned a 71. Peter doesn't know yet whether he will be in the Buckpool field.
Another member of the Smith clan, Alfie from the Turriff club, deserves an honourable mention. A senior member - 55 years or over, Alfie return a 73 which included a four-putt 7 at the seventh in halves of 36 and 37.
There are separate prizelists for each round of the Alliance championship and other awards for the 36-hole gross, net and senior totals.  

FIRST ROUND SCRATCH SCORES
Par 68. Yardage: 6,007.
65 S Larkin (Royal Aberdeen).
68 Sean Lawrie (Portlethen), Paul Lawrie (Paul Lawrie Foundation) p.
69 C Nelson (Mackenzie Club) p
70 C Law (Kings Links) p
71 P Smith (Deeside) p.
72 R Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo) p, A Dunton (McDonald Ellon).
73 A J Smith (Turriff), I Bratton (Newburgh) p, F Bisset (Banchory), C Carnegie (Kemnay).
74 E McIntosh (Newmachar) p, D A Fleming (Portlethen), S Finnie (Caledonian), D Wilson (Duff House Royal).
75 J Callum (Myrus DR) p, P Lovie (P1 Corporate) p, J Reid (Cruden Bay), K Duncan (McDonald Ellon), G Ingram (Inverurie), D Brown (Kemnay) p, M Jenkins (Duff House Royal), J Hopwood (Carnegie) p.
76 J Duff (Newmachar).
77 G Munro (Fraserburgh), A K Pirie (Hazlehead), J Forrest (Northern), R Lamb (Newmachar), M Merchant (Newmachar), D Nelson (Aboyne), C Stewart (Kippie Lodge) p.
78 D Mackay (Newmachar), D Leslie (Westhill).
79 P Morrison (Oldmeldrum), S Scott (Auchmill), L Prouse (Hazlehead), K Beveridge (Inchmarlo) p, J Duncan (Newburgh), J Roberts (Cruden Bay), S Kennedy (Craibstone), D Bisset (Banchory), B Nicolson (Auchmill).
80 Samantha Leslie (Westhill), H McNaughton (Cruden Bay).
81 C Cassie (Nigg Bay), J M Hamilton (Murcar Links), J Thomas (Craibstone).
82 G Geddes (Auchmill), J Dalgarno (Hazlehead), H Roulston (Stonehaven), M Lawrie (Kemnay), S Chalmers (Banchory), A B Clark (Newmachar).
83 I D Smith (Hazlehead) p retired, N K Parker (Murcar Links).
84 D Phillip (Newburgh), D McKay (Caledonian), M Booth (Kemnay), C Duffus (Kemnay).
85 C Ord (Auchmill), G Allan (Newmachar).
86 B Harper (Newburgh), L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen), N Stewart (Northern), D Randall (Banchory), G Stevely (Murcar Links), P Cornfield (Auchmill), N Chisholm (Kemnay), W Skene (Deeside)..
87 A Petrie (Oldmeldrum), G Brown (Portlethen), R O’Donnell (Oldmeldrum).
88 G Leslie (Newburgh), J Mackintosh (Auchmill), B Lumsden (Northern), P Cheyne (Northern), I Strachan (Royal Aberdeen), A Graham (Aboyne)
89 R Brown (Inverurie), J Borthwick (Craibstone)..
90 M Brown (Inverurie), G Homer (Northern), D Lawrie (Inchmarlo), J L Gall (Caledonian).
91 S Davidson (Northern), D Ritchie (Invergordon), K Duncan (Cruden Bay), B Lumsden jun (Northern).
93 D Bingham (Newburgh).
94 M Ord (Royal Aberdeen), J Jessiman (Oldmeldrum), I Mundie (Newburgh).
96 M Rendall (Stonehaven), J Lumsden (Auchmill), M F Rogers (Kemnay), I Grant (Insch).
100 M Smith (Inverurie).
102 T Slater (Auchmill).
104 J McPherson (Auchmill), C Farquhar (Northern).

HANDICAP PRIZEWINNERS
Class 1 - A J Smith (Turriff) (4), C Carnegie (Kemnay) (4), D Wilson (Duff House Royal) (5), J Forrest (Northern) (8) 69; D A Fleming (Portlethen) (4), D Nelson (Aboyne) (7), D Bisset (Banchory) (9) 70.
Class 2 - S Kennedy (Craibstone) (11) 68; H McNaughton (Cruden Bay) (11) 69; P Cornfield (Auchmill) (15) 71; A B Clark (Newmachar) (10), M Brown (Inverurie) (18) 72.

LEADING SENIOR SCRATCH SCORES
(Age 55 and over)
73 A J Smith (Turriff).
74 D Wilson (Duff House Royal)
75 M Jenkins (Duff House Royal)
77 A K Pirie (Hazlehead), J Forrest (Northern), D Nelson (Aboyne).
79 D Bisset (Banchory), J Duncan (Newburgh).
81 J M Hamilton (Murcar Links).
82 H Roulston (Stonehaven), A B Clark (Newmachar).
83 I D Smith (Hazlehead), N K Parker (Murcar Links).
+If you are a senior who played today and you scored 83 gross or better and your name is not on the above list, E-mail the details to Colin@scottishgolfview.com


TODAY'S BEST SCORECARDS
DUFF HOUSE ROYAL PAR 68
OUT: 4-4-4-4-4-3-4-4-3--34. IN: 4-3-5-3-4-4-3-4-4--34.

SCOTT LARKIN 65
OUT: 3-4-4-4-3-4-5-3-4--34. IN: 3-3-5-3-3-4-3-4-3--31
SEAN LAWRIE 68
OUT: 3-4-4-4-4-3-6-3-3--34. IN:  5-3-4-3-4-5-2-4-4--34
PAUL LAWRIE 68
OUT: 4-4-4-4-4-2-5-4-4--35. IN: 4-3-4-3-4-4-3-4-4--33
COLIN NELSON 69
OUT: 4-4-4-5-4-3-4-4-3--35. IN: 3-3-4-3-4-5-4-4-4--34
CHRIS LAW 70
OUT: 4-4-4-4-4-3-5-4-3--35. IN: 3-4-4-3-6-4-2-5-4--35
PETER SMITH 71
OUT: 3-4-5-4-4-3-5-5-3--36. IN: 5-3-4-3-4-5-3-4-4--35
RYAN FITZPATRICK 72
OUT: 4-4-4-4-4-3-4-5-4--36. IN: 4-4-5-3-4-4-4-4-4--36
ADAM DUNTON 72
OUT: 4-3-5-4-5-2-5-5-3--36. IN: 3-3-5-3-5-4-3-5-5--36
ALFIE SMITH 73
OUT: 4-4-4-4-3-3-7-4-3--36. IN: 4-3-4-4-5-4-4-5-4--37
IAN BRATTON 73
OUT: 4-4-6-4-3-2-5-4-4--36. IN: 4-3-4-4-5-4-4-4-5--37
FERGUS BISSET 73
OUT: 3-4-4-4-5-3-6-4-4--37. IN: 5-4-5-3-5-3-3-4-4--36
CRAIG CARNEGIE 73
OUT: 3-3-4-5-4-3-5-5-3--35. IN: 5-3-4-3-5-6-4-4-4--38