REPORT AND SCORES FROM ROBIN WILSON

FORBES WINS ALLIANCE SCRATCH 

QUAICH BUT STEVEN IS WICK WINNER

Muir of Ord's John Forbes figured in a three-way tie on one-over-par 70 in the most recent North Golf Alliance fixture, played at Wick.
Forbes thus won the Alliance Scratch Quaich, based on the aggregate of the best four scratch scores in the season, two at Caithness venues plus any two from Sutherland and Ross-shire venues.
But he lost out on a countback for the leading scratch prize on the day at Wick.
Forbes had two halves of 35 for his 70.
The two other players involved in the inward nine-hole card play-off were locals Gordon Steven and John Hunter.  

 Hunter, the former Wick club captain, led the trio through through halfway mark with a one-under-par count of 34, birdies at the first and seventh, before he had a  bogey 4 from a careless short missed putt on the ninth green. 

Gordon, the eventual scratch winner, was at this point trailing after an outward count of 36.

Hunter began his inward half as he began his outward, with a birdie 3, to get to two under par before his putter let him down again on the 12^th and 15^th greens.

His third inward bogey on the 16^th hole added up to a back nine count of 36 for his gross 70 and a drop back to third place. 

Forbes took his first bogey of the round  at the 10th followed by another bogey 4 at the short 11th. A stroke was recovered two holes later with his only inward-half birdie to end up in second place behind Steven.

Local member Steven recorded his second win of the season when he added a level par 34 to his outward 36. His only inward half blemish came at the final hole which cost him a bogey 5 after picking up a birdie 3 at the 15^th.   

Clubmate Hunter, a six-handicapper, enjoyed the consolation of an eight-shot win in the Class 1 handicap section ahead of the Ross- shire pair, Davie Mackay (Tarbat) and Billy Ferries (Tain).

Tain's Caithness-based scratch golfer Dougie Thorburn, holder of the Quaich, found himself out of the scratch race after seven holes when he missed the fairway and lost his plugged ball in the rough. 

It cost him a triple bogey 7 and his gross and net 73 earned him an uncharacteristic fourth handicap prize.

Thurso's Stanley Ross escaped a handicap cut after his Class 2 win at the last fixture in Tain but will most likely come under the secretary's knife for a repeat sub-par score at Wick. 

He had a runaway eight- shot win in Class 2 after his gross 75 reduced to nett 65.  Reay's Pete McCartney grossed 86 for net 73 and second place while Alister Gunn (Reay) improved from his fourth place at Tain to third at Wick with net 74, a stroke in front of Pat Ballantyne (Thurso). 

The low entry of 26 missed the loyal support from Durness members who normally turn out in numbers.

 WICK ALLIANCE RESULTS

SCRATCH

Par 69

70 G Steven (Wick) 36-34, J Forbes (Muir of Ord) 35-35, J Hunter (Wick) 34-36. 

73 D Thorburn (Tain) 36-37. 

74 B Ferries (Tain) 38-36. 

HANDICAP

Class 1 – J Hunter (Wick) (6) 64; D H Mackay (Tarbat) (8) 72; B Ferries (Tain) (2) 72; D Thorburn (Tain) (scr) 73. 

Class 2 – S Ross (Thurso) (10) 65; P McCartney (Reay) (13) 73; A Gunn (Reay) (10) 74; P Ballantyne (Thurso) (10) 75.