WINNER OF PRESTIGIOUS TITLE THREE TIMES OVER SIX YEARS

              Eric Brown in action at Murcar in the 1961 Northern Open won by Harry Weetman.

   

HARRY BANNERMAN SHARES HIS

NORTHERN OPEN MEMORIES

By HARRY BANNERMAN

Winner of the Northern Open in

1967, 1969 and 1972.

Ryder Cup player in 1971

The Northern Open was inaugurated in 1931. The venue was Balgownie Links . The winner was J.McDowell, playing out of Turnberry scoring 289. 

The early championship had a rota of courses used of which Balgownie, Nairn, Murcar, Dornoch, Lossiemouth and Cruden Bay were the main ones.

Others  used were Culcabock Inverness (1934), Deeside (1936), Peterhead (1938 and 1947), Elgin (1966).

Since then Skibo Castle and Meldrum House have figured prominently.

My first appearances in the early 60s were as an amateur playing out of Murcar with little or no success.

My first pro in the Northern Open was  at Elgin. I finished sixth equal and earned £40.

When I won at Royal  Dornoch my aggregate was 285 and first prize £300.

When I won in 1969 at Lossiemouth, my total was 295 and the prize £300.

When I won in 1972 at Balgownie it was with a total of 286 and the first prize was still £300.

I was Northern Open runner-up three times, once at Cruden Bay to my old pal A.K.Pirie who had a winning total of 215 after the tournament was curtailed to 54 holes because of fog. 
My Royal Dornoch winning score of 285 (5 over par) was the lowest score ever there since the start of the tournament. 
At Dornoch in 1954 an intrepid E.C Brown scored in the 80s in rounds 1 and 2 and was indicating that he was off home! 
The officials pleaded otherwise and in more benign weather Eric produced  two low 70s rounds to win with a total of 307 (one under level 77s)

My Lossiemouth triumph included a 68 in round 2 which spreadeagled the field and although I looked like the easy winner I required a bounce off the dyke at the 72nd.hole to prevail.

In 1972 my caddie was Willie Aitchison, a Glaswegian who caddied for 3 Open champions: Roberto de Vicenzo 1967, and Lee Trevino 1971 and 1972.

At Balgownie that year three-putting was rife because of "pudding greens"- too much fertilizer and water and not enough sand as the top dressing. How things have improved when I am privileged to play now on the immaculate  Royal Aberdeen links!

Some interesting Northern Open winners over the year: 1938 at Peterhead  T.B. (Tom) Haliburton playing out of Prestwick St. Nicholas and at Murcar in 1961 Harry Weetman (Selsdon Park Hotel, London) while serving a ban from participating in British P.G.A.events.

He was sponsored by my late, great friend and benefactor Bobby Morrison. Weetman's ban was for remarks made at the 1957 Ryder Cup.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Northern Open, before the Scottish PGA took it over, was kept alive by two  Aberdeen businessmen and keen golfers, Bill Connon and Jack Hall who would ask golf clubs in the Aberdeen area to contribute to the prize fund every year.

This will be the 78th staging of the event.

The Northern Open used to be played in April when it could be very cold and windy. 

Peter Smith set the record low 72-hole winning total in the Northern Open of 1992 - 264 - and it stood for 21 years, until 2013 to be precise

At last year's Northern Open, played at Meldrum House, James Byrne, winning for the second year in a row, shot 67-66-63-65 for a total of 261, coming from five shots behind halfway leader David Law to repeat his 2012 win.
Eric Brown (1953-54-55) is the only man in Northern Open history to win the title three years in a row.