IAIN POWELL WINS CLYNELISH SALVER AT BRORA

By ROBIN WILSON

Since first winning Brora's August four-day competition for the Clynelish Salver ten years ago Brora-born Iain Powell,  now playing out of Aberdeen's Murcar Links Golf Club, has featured in four other finals,winning his second Salver last year before last Friday claiming his third title with a successful defence of this highly desired Sutherland tournament.

Over the countless years Angus-based Dougal Chalmers, a member of Downfield, Panmure, and Royal Dornoch Golf Clubs has holidayed in Dornoch he has become a well kent face on the Sutherland fixture  scene and a prominent entry to the Brora competition winning the Salver as long ago as 1985 and beaten finalist in 2009. 

Now at age 54 his chance to win for a second time may lengthening  but his determination to contest against younger opponents is a credit to him especially after beating local protégée Liam Macdonald-MacLeod 4 and 3 in the semi final.

Powell, taking a break from his post as  Manager to the Paul Lawrie Golf Foundation,  got through to his successive final after beating former home double winner Roddie Cameron in a sixteen hole thriller where Powell restored the family honour after Cameron had knocked out his elder brother, Andrew from the Deeside Club, the winner of the W J Henderson Medal as leading qualifier.

Elder brother Andrew, in difficult conditions, won the medal by a stroke from second seed Macdonald-MacLeod after Michael Lawrie, younger son of the former Open Champion, had a first round gross 70 but an 84 in round 2.   

The finalists, watched by a good gallery, halved the first three holes before Powell took the lead after his 15 foot birdie attempt dropped on the fourth green. 

The next three holes were halved before Powell hand back his lead with a three putt on the seventh but with Chalmers in the rough at the par five eighth hole his one hole lead was restored and he still held it when they turned for home.

The Murcar Links golfer came up short of both the 11^th and 12^th greens and it cost him both holes, Chalmers now in the lead by one, was this the little injection to his stamina needed with six holes left to play? But from the tee at the short 13^th hole a sign of tiredness, a hands only pull to the left side of the green from where he could not better Powell's second birdie putt from 20 feet to level and the the impetus returning in his favour.

The 14^th and 15th holes were halved. The second tired looking shot arrived from Chalmers from the 16^th tee, a low hook left from where he failed to find the green and Powell ascended to a one hole lead once more with an effortless par four.

The 17th hole is regarded as Brora's signature hole and where Powell signed off his third Clynelish Salver victory. A powerful drive taking out the dog-leg left him just a nine iron to the green while Chalmers only reaching the dog-leg was faced with a mid iron which again he pulled left. 

His recovery to the green from thick rough was a courages one leaving him only a six foot putt sown the slope but his attempt to take the tie to the final home green slipped bye and Powell took his two putts to win 2 and 1. 
*Picture, by Robin Wilson, at top of the artile shows Clynelish Distillery manager Andrew Millsopp present the trophy to Iain Powell.

Match Play Results

Round 1

A Powell (Deeside) bt G Grant (Brora) 5 and 4.

R S Cameron (Brora) bt R N MacDonald (Brora) 5 and 4

I S Powell (Murcar Links) bt M Lawrie (Deeside) 5 and 3

O MacLennan (Brora) bt A Moncaster (Appleby) 2 and 1

D Chalmers (Panmure) bt P Austin (Brora) 5 and 4

N Cameron (Brora) bt M MacLean (Brora) 2 and 1

E Polson (Brora) bt T M B Brown (Prestwick) 5 and 4

L MacDonald-Macleod (Brora) bt D M B Brown (Prestwick) 4 and 3.

Round 2

R S Cameron bt A Powell 3/2

I Powell bt O MacLennan 5 and3

Chalmers bt N Cameron 5 and 4

Polson bt MacDonald-Macleod 1 hole. 

Semi finals

R S Cameron bt A Powell 3 and 2.

Chalmers bt MacDonald-MacLeod 4 and 3

Final

I Powell bt Chalmers 2 and 1. 

Handicap Section winners

McRobert Thistle Cup - J Turner (Tyneside) (5) bt I Kennedy (Overstone Park) (5) 2 and 1. 

Clynelish Shield - J Malcolm (Prestonfield) (8) bt S Murray (Falkirk) (8) 3 and 1.  Auchroisk Cup – C MacDonald (Notts) (14) bt G Porter (Nairn Dunbar) (15) 5 and 4.

Paul Lawrie Foundation Trophy (Leading Junior Qualifier) - Michael MacLean (Brora) (71/77) . Presentation pictured right         

Fraserburgh Golfers to the Fore at Tain

Tain Golf Club's premier 36-hole trophy, the Abdul Ghani Cup, rarely travels far from home but after exiting the Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch in days leading up to last Saturday's competition Fraserburgh's Gordon Munro and club mate Andrew Hepburn extended their stay in the North and finished first and third respectively in their first go at the event.

Munro, holder of a plus one handicap equalled the par of 70 in his first round with a card that featured five birdies and five bogies for equal halves of 35.  In Round two following his first round birdie at the 9^th hole he made a double bogey six at the same hole to be out in three over par 38 but finishing off his visit to the course with a birdie he grossed 71 for a total of 141 to win the Abdul Ghani Cup by two shots from Ross shire's County Champion Alan Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 70/73.

Hepburn grossed two 72's for third scratch place but the two highlights of the day were a hole in one by BonarBridge/ Ardgay member Seann Sutherland in the first round at the 17^th hole and the best gross round of the day by fifteen-year old Inverness junior Kieran Mackay. Five handicapper Mackay recorded seventeen successive par figures before a final hole birdie for his first round card  of 69 (35/34).

The teenager added a modest second round 76, nett 71 to win the Rutherford handicap cup by three strokes from three handicapper S Johnstone (Muir of Ord).

Tain Results

(CSS 72 both rounds members and visitors)

Abdul Ghani Cup

141 G Munro (Fraserburgh) 70 71.

143 A Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 70 73.

144 A Hepburn (Fraserburgh) 72 72, L Chancellor (Inverness) 71 73.

145 L McAlpine (Tain) 72 73.

Rutherford Trophy – K Mackay (Tain/Inverness) (5) 135; S Johnstone (Muir of Ord) (3) 138; J Cameron (Tain) (4) 139; B Ferries (Tain) (3) l40; D Joel (Inverness (2) 142.