CRUDEN BAY PLAYER HEADS FIELD OF 87 WITH FOUR-UNDER-PAR 64

KEVIN DUNCAN OUT IN 29 AT ABOYNE 

ON  WAY TO N E ALIANCE VICTORY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com 

Not only was it a glorious sunny day at Aboyne Golf Club today, some of the scoring on a parkland course in tip-top condition was pretty hot stuff as well!

For instance Cruden Bay's Kevin Duncan, pictured, covered the par-34 outward half in only 29 shots - birdieing five holes in a row from the third to the seventh - on his way to heading a field of 87 with a splendid four-under-par round of 64.

Duncan might have been thinking of finishing with the "magic" number of 59 until a double bogey 6 at the 10th knocked him out of his stride.
The +2 Cruden Bay man gained only one more birdie before the finish, at the 16th, in coming home in one-over 35.
Duncan's  outward half was: 3 4 3 2 3 3 4 3 4. He earned a prize voucher for £130.
Despite a number of pros in the field, including Challenge Tour player and Northern Open champion David Law (Paul Lawrie GC), who had a 70, amateurs filled the first three places.
Portlethen's +2 player Clark Brechin, making his NE Alliance deubt, finished second on 68 (31-37) and Newmachar's John Duff, who also has a +2 rating, came third on 69 (32-37).
Brechin, a past winner more than once of the North-east District Order of Merit, had three birdies in a row in his outward 31 but, like Duncan, he lost his momentum with a double bogey 6 at the 11th where he lost a ball.
After a birdie 2 at the 12th, Brechin bogeyed the 13th and 17th in a three-over 37 home.
The inward half was definitely playing a lot harder than the outward nine, underlined by Duff's triple bogey 7 at the 11th. He was four over par for the last eight holes.
The general agreement was that the Aboyne course has never looked better and the greens were the fastest they have been all year, according to local member and Alliance player David Nelson.
ALL THE SCRATCH SCORES

Par 68 (34-34)
64 Kevin Duncan (Cruden Bay) 29-35
68 Clark Brechin (Portlethen) 31-37
69 John Duff (Newmachar) 32-37
70 Kamran Zeynalov (Paul Lawrie GC) 35-35, Terry Mathieson (Murcar Links) 35-35, Lee Vannet (Craibstone) 32-38, David Law (Paul Lawrie GC) 34-36
71 Gary Esson (McDonald Ellon) 36-35, Joel Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen) 36-35

73 B J Ritchie (Newmachar) 35-38, G Craig (Aboyne) 37-36, C Nelson (Mackenzie Shop) 36-37, J Emslie (Royal Aberdeen) 36-37, F Bisset (Banchory) 37-36

74 B Fyfe (Paul Lawrie GC)37-37

75 B Robson (Newmachar) 35-40, C Grant (Portlethen) 36-39, R McConnachie (Peterculter) 35-40

76 S Murray (Nevada Bob) 38-38, K Beveridge (Kippie Lodge) 38-38

77 B Main (Murcar Links) 41-36, A Graham (Aboyne) 38-39

78 C Cassie (Nigg Bay) 410-37, D Leslie (Northern) 40-38, C Angus (Kemnay) 39-39

79 H Roulston (Stonehaven) 39-40, Steve Lawrie (Portlethen) 42-37

80 C Carnegie (Kemnay) 43-37, D Fleming (Portlethen) 40-40, G Angus (Kemnay) 39-41, S Shand (Kemnay) 39-41

81 P McKenna (Paul Lawrie GC) 39-42,  I Clark (Deeside) 36-45, A Gall (Deeside) 39-42, M Merchant (Newmachar) 41-40, K McGillivray (Craibstone) , I Taylor (Hazlehead) 42-39, J Duncan (Newburgh) 41-40, S Mackie (Hazlehead) 39-42

82  D Mackay (Newmachar), B Skene (Peterculter), K Stewart (Kemnay)

83 I D Smith (retired pro), B Lumsden (Northern), L Clark (Kemnay), R Davidson (Deeside)

84 J Scott (Peterculter), W Shaw (Banchory), D Craigie (Peterculter), D Nelson (Aboyne)

85 M Smith (Newmachar), H McNaughton (Cruden Bay), J Murray (Banchory), C Tawse (Strathlene)

86 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen), S Dillon (Kemnay), D Bisset (Banchory), P Cornfield (Hazlehead)

87 M Winton (Caledonian), D McKay (Caledonian)

89 G Homer (Northern)

90 D Lawrie (Aboyne), D Lane (Deeside), J Forrest (Northern)

91 N Chisholm (Kemnay)

92 R Duncan (Deeside), P Low (Craibstone) 

93 A Clark (Deeside)

96 M Rogers (Kemnay)

98 J Smith (Strathlene)

99 G McDonald (Craibstone)

HANDICAP PRIZEWINNERS
Class 1 -  G Craig (5) 68; G Esson (2), F Bisset (4) 69; S Lawrie (8), C Cassie (7) 71.
Class 2 - S Dillon (16) 70; M Smith (14) 71; B Lumsden (11), H McNaughton (13), B Skene (10) 72.