ROBIN WILSON'S NORTH GOLF NEWS

North District Senior Championship

First Time Winner from Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club.

Willie Donnelly, pictured with Bryce Milne on right, is the new holder of the Macallan Trophy which he won at last Friday's North District Senior Championship played over the Nairn Dunbar Golf Club.

As well as winning the trophy for the first time he became the first Fortrose and Rosemarkie member to lift this trophy.  Donnelly, now 62,  previously played his golf out of Forres but after joining the Black Isle club, he was a member of the  first Fortrose team to win the Northern Counties Cup for the first time in 2002 at Tain. This Counties competition should return to Tain Golf Club next year.

Over a bogey free first nine holes Donnelly had two single putt greens to record birdies on the 2^nd and seventh holes and a count of 33. A three birdie inward card, 12th, 15th and 16th fell back to 36 with his  bogies at the 10th and three putt 17th green for his  three under par 69 which  won by one shot from former winner Bryce Milne (Elgin).

Milne's gross 70 (35/35) was three under his age and his card ended, birdie, birdie, birdie on the final  three holes.

Third placed local member Douglas Brodie with a par matching 72 led a cluster of home members to the prize table  in the three age categories. Inverness's Laurie Chancellor had the lowest gross, a 74 in the 55 to 64 group and the three nett winners in this group were all from the host club, Paul Jackson, Ron Cameron and Derek Lamb.

In  the age group 65 to 70 with a gross 73  David Corstorphine continued the home run while the handicap winners were Gordon Scott (Inverness) followed by Les Dickson and Alan Boxx ,both from Boat of Garten.

In the final section for the over 71's Charles Stewart (Moray) led the way with an 83 and the two home members picking up handicap prizes were  David Fraser and William Main, first and third respectively with Ian Brodie from The Nairn separating them. 

Macallan Trophy Scratch. CSS

W Donnelly (F and R) 69. B Milne (Elgin) 70. D Brodie (Nairn Dunbar) 72.

Cat A – Scratch, L Chancellor (Inverness) 74. Handicap – P Jackson (Nairn Dunbar) (9)  69, R Cameron (Nairn Dunbar) (8) 69. D Lamb (Nairn Dunbar) (5)70.

Cat B– Scratch, D Corstorphine (Nairn Dunbar) 73.  Handicap – G Scott (Inverness)  (12) 66  L Dickson (Boat of Garten) (19) 70 , A Boxx (Boat of Garten) (11)70.  

Cat C – Scratch, C Stewart (Moray) 83. Handicap - D Fraser (Nairn Dunbar) (13) 71. I Brodie (The Nairn) (10) 73, W Main (Nairn Dunbar (11) 74.

 Commonwealth Spoons Finals at Fortrose and Rosemarkie.

The winners of the women's Northern Counties qualifying competition,  Liz Coghill and Denise McBride from Royal Dornoch who took their place in the Scottish finals of the Commonwealth Spoons competition which was recently played over the Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Course where they finished in third place overall.

The Dornoch pair's nett card of 75.5 off 12.5 finished just a stroke behind the Scottish winners from the Lothians, Ingrid Elgsaas and Georgine Parson who grossed 102 for nett 74.5 after their handicap of 27.5 was taken off.

Although Northern Counties were entitled to send five couples to the finals, due to the date clash with the European Women's senior championships in Slovenia, Royal Dornoch's Alison Bartlett and Tain's Mary Smith who with their club partners  had qualified for the finals were unable to play leaving the North with only one other couple at Fortrose, Gillian Dowling and Alex Fraser (Inverness) and they scored a nett 80.

At Bled in Slovenia, Smith and Bartlett and the Scottish team missed qualifying for the first flight but the Scots women made it through to the final of the B Flight where they were beaten by Belgium.

Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) and Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose) won the foursome game 7 and 5 but in the singles Mary Smith (Tain) lost by two holes, Lorna Bennett (Ladybank) lost by 4 and 2, and Fiona De Vries (St Rule) went down by 6 and 4.

Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) was conceded victory in her match by the Belgians once they knew the overall contest had been won. The Scots were officially placed 10th in the rankings, having failed to qualify for the top eight championship flight.

Professional Golfers at Brora and Tain Next Week

The leading three money winning professionals on the Scottish Region fixture list will tee up at Tain Golf Club on Tuesday of next week to take part in the third Tain and Brora 36-Hole Challenge.

Already guaranteed to finish top of the list with already £33,159 of winnings this season is Banchory's Greig Hutcheon the professional who tied for second place in last season's competition.  Hutcheon tees off at Tain at 11.00 AM. In second place with £25,630 is Graham Fox from Clydeway Golf  and third with £18,700 is Aberdeen based Scott Henderson (Kings Links).

They are joined in a field of 69 by several local familiar names and given the honour of starting the first round at 8.30 Am is local Tain professional Stuart Morrison and from nearby Royal Dornoch Gary Ding wall. Tain's own members will be drawn out to support Morrison and a former local left handed club amateur Ross McLeod (Clydeway Golf)  the same professional attachment as the number two, Graham Fox.

The name missing from next week is last year's winner, David Patrick (Eli Golf Centre)  who set a new professional course record of 63 for Brora on the second day of play. This record will be lost to Patrick next week as the Brora course now has a new par five hole at the eleventh from the start of this season. Tain also had a new professional record set last year when in round one Scott Henderson carded a four under par 66.  

Meanwhile at Royal Dornoch this weekend their begins on Saturday, the Clubgolf Pro-Am with local junior golfers and adult teams joining up with young professionals in a Pro-Am event supported by Clubgolf Scotland.

The Young trainees stay on in Dornoch to play in their own Sandy Pipey Assistant's 36 hole championship on Sunday and Monday.