BRYAN INNES WINS SINCLAIR CUP OPEN AT ROYAL DORNOCH

On left, handicap winner Erik Johnson (Michigan), Bryan Innes and Royal Dornoch captain Hamish Macrae.

By ROBIN WILSON
Local member and Sutherland's champion golfer, Kevin Matheson, the only home club golfer to rebuff the last 10 years of Aberdeen domination in the Sinclair Cup open competition, came within a stroke of winning the cup again at Royal Dornoch.

With a slip up on the penultimate green by Matheson, in the club's premier 36 hole open event, the cup was once more whisked off to Aberdeen, won for the first time by Murcar Links Golf Club member, Bryan Innes.

The restricted entry of 72 was one of the strongest ever assembled for this competition, 23 entrants holding handicaps of three and below including five scratch golfers and two with plus handicap ratings.

With his handicap of +2, 41-year-old Innes, a former Scotland international and semi-finalist in the Scottish amateur as recently as 2009,  was the highest rated player in attendance, making his second visit to the classic Dornoch Links.
Innes was among the leading scores after his first round level par 70 , three birdies, 9th, 13th and 15th, and three bogeys, 6th, 10th and 14th alongside Matheson, on whom the Dornoch members were pinning their hopes after he had beaten off the North-east challengers in 2004, 2006 and 2009. This year Matheson had an ally in clubmate Daniel Holden after his third place last year.
Three-handicapper Holden's name sat on top of the first-round leaderboard after a superb first round two under par card of 68, two birdies and an eagle in an outward 33 and after beginning his inward stretch with his second birdie two of the day he got home in par 35.
Holden held a similar leading position last year before falling back to his third place. Still searching for two good successive rounds he once again was relegated to third place with a faltering second round 78 despite the reward of repeating his morning eagle on the 9th hole. His time will surely come.

In round one following birdies at both of the outward half short holes Matheson shared 70 (34/36) with Innes and paired together in the final group the Murcar visitor and the local member were still inseparable both turning for home in 37. Innes an unfortunate lost ball at the seventh hole and Matheson taking bogeys at two of the last three outward holes for his two over par card.

They remained tied with just two holes to play but Matheson's three putt for bogey 5 on the 17th green was the felling blow and with the final hole halved in par Innes was home in 35 for 72 and Matheson 36 for 73 - Innes the one shot winner on gross 142 against Matheson's 143.

One handicapper Joe Walsh from West Lancashire pulled himself into fourth place with a second round 72 for 147, one ahead of Alan Cameron recent winner of the Inverness 4-day (77/71).

From further afield, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA, and on his first visit to Dornoch, Erik Johnson led the net returns with cards of 66 and 72 for 138, off eight, followed by three more visiting golfers before Kristain Sinclair and Tony Gordon wagged the home tails in 4th and fifth places.


Results
CSS Round 1- 73 (home and away); Round 2 ( home 73, away 74).
SCRATCH
142 B Innes (Murcar Links) 70 72
143 K Matheson (Royal Dornoch) 70 73
146 D Holden (Royal Dornoch) 68 78
147 J Walsh (West Lancs 75 72
148 Alan Cameron (Inverness) 77 71
149 M Ingram (Inverurie) 76 73, M Buchan (Cruden Bay ) 72 77
HANDICAP
138 E Johnson (Eastern Hills USA) (8) 66 72. 
142 Colin Campbell (Gullane) (6) 75 67.
143 M Ingram (Inverurie) (3) 73 70. 
145 K Sinclair (Royal Dornoch) (4) 75 70.
146 A J Gordon (Royal Dornoch) (5) 70 76. 


Best Scratch Round - D Brown (Prestwick) 72
Best Handicap Round - P Robb (Peterculter) (1) 71