DUFF IS NE ALLIANCE CHAMPION

 FOR SECOND TIME IN THREE YEARS 

 By COLIN FARQUHARSON
  Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Newmachar amateur John Duff won the North-east Alliance championship for the second time in three years at Craibstone Golf Club today. The Inverurie-based player added a par 69 to the 71 at Duff House Royal last week, which gave him a four-stroke lead to carry over into the second and final round. He won the Uniroyal Quaich by four strokes with his 140 total - four shots ahead of another amateur, Nick Macandrew who scored 79 last week and a day's best four-under, bogey-free 65 (33-32) at Craibstone for 144. 
Duff also won the Brimmond Bistro Scratch Order of Merit, capping a season in which he has been the dominant player on the NE Alliance circuit.
Because the rules of the competition debar an amateur from winning more than one trophy, the J K Hall Quaich as leading amateur went to Macandrew, rather fittingly, the late Jack Hall having been a Royal Aberdeen member. 
Macandrew's 65, which had birdies at the fourth, ninth, 14th and 15th, won him the £150 amateur voucher for the day's best scratch score in a field of 97 players.
Laura Murray (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) finished third in the 36-hole championship with an aggregate of 145 (75-70). At the weekend she flies to Morocco to make her LET Tour debut at Agadir.
Stewart Allison (Caledonian) won the Chapper's Pot for the best Class 1 handicap aggregate of 143 off a handicap of seven.
Nigel Parker (Murcar Links), who celebrates his 70-something birthday this week, won the Major's Pot for the bet Class 2 handicap aggregate of 141 off a handicap of 14.
The three Order of Merit classes were won as follows:
Brimmond Bistro Scratch - John Duff (Newmachar)
WLM Golf Class 1 Handicap - David Fleming (Portlethen)
WLM Golf Class 2 Handicap - Hamish McNaughton (Cruden Bay).
+We'll display the full Order of Merit points totals on this website on Thursday. Until Joel Hopwood, the Alliance captain and Senior Assistant Professional at Royal Aberdeen GC and the man who updates the Order of Merit points totals, gets the full top 20 scratch returns authorised, he cannot produce the final Scratch Order of Merit placings, apart from the winner, John Duff.


 LEADING SCRATCH AGGREGATES
Par 137 (68 at Duff House Royal; 69 at Craibstone).
140 J Duff (Newmachar) 71 69
144 N Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 79 65
145 Laura Murray (Paul Lawrie Gcd) 75 70
147 R McConnachie (Peterculter) 77 70
148 S Macneil (Aboyne) 76 72, S  Murray (Nevada Bob's) 76 72, Sean Lawrie (Portlethen) 78 70
149 L Vannet (Craibstone) 79 70, T Robertson (Peterculter) 79 70, S Finnie (Royal Aberdeen) 77 72
151 A Campbell (Murcar Links) 79 72, C Grant (Portlethne) 78 73, C Goodwin (Duff House Royal) 77 74 
152 C Nelson (Mackenzie Shop) 80 72, P McKenna (Paul Lawrie GC) 78 74, J Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen) 78 74
153 R O'Donnell (Oldmeldrum) 76 77, R Ord (Meldrum House) 78 75, D Leslie (Northern) 78 75 
154 B Murray (Portlethen) 75 79
155 S Kiloh (Portlethen) 83 72, J Nicolson (Hazlehead) 79 76.
157 S Allison (Caledonian) 83 74
158 B Nicolson (Hazlehead) 80 78
159 Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) 85 74, Keil Beveridge (Kippie Lodge) 85 74, J Emslie (Royal Aberdeen) 84 75, W Skene (Deeside) 80 79. 
161 L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) 81 80
162 D Fleming (Portlethen) 86 76
163 J Duncan (Oldmeldrum) 87 76
164 M Forster (Cruden Bay) 84 80, J Borthwocl )Craobstpme_ 99 87
165 D Lane (Deeside) 88 77
166 A Gall (Deeside) 83 83, R Masson (Auchmill) 87 79, I Taylor (Hazlehead) 80 86
167 H Roulston (Stonehaven) 83 84
168 D Mackay (Hazlehead) 83 85, G Milne (Newburgh) 89 79.
169 N K Parker (Murcar Links) 82 87, J Forrest (Northern) 85 84
171 J Scott (Peterculter) 92 79, B Skene (Peterculter) 85 86, P Morrison (Oldmeldrum) 93 78, N Chisholm (Kemnay) 92 79
173 B Lumsden (Northern) 88 85, S Davidson (Northern)88 85, M Winton (Caledonian) 90 83.
174 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) 89 85, L Duncan (Craibstone) 90 84, J Murray (Banchory) 92 82, D Townsley (Peterculter) 91 83.
175 G Homer (Northern) 91 84, P Low (Craibstone) 92 83, C Duffus (Kemnay) 92 83
176 D Nelson (Aboyne) 90 86, R Duncan (Deeside) 90 86
177 M Duncan (Murcar Links) 91 86.
178 D Bisset (Banchory) 95 83, H McNaughton (Cruden Bay) 94 84 
179 D Wright (Northern) 91 88 
180 A Benton (Kemnay) 95 85
181 G Thom (Kemnay) 90 91
183 J Jessiman (Oldmeldrum) 92 91 
186 M Smith (Newmachr) 90 96
187 S Dillon (Kemnay) 90 97
191 M Rendall (Stonehaven) 97 94, M Brown (Kemnay) 95 96
192 M Rogers (Kemnay) 100 92

TWO-ROUND TROPHY WINNERS
Uniroyal Quaich - John Duff (Newmachar) (Championship winner)
J K Hall Quaich - Nick Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) (Leading amateur).
Chapper's Pot - Stewart Allison (Caledonian) (7) 143 (Best Class 1 Handicap).
Major's Pot - Nigel Parker (Muircar Links) (14) 141 (Best Class 2 Handicap. 
Brimmond Bistro Scratch Order of Merit winner - John Duff (Newmachar) winner.
WLM Golf Handicap Class 1 Order of Merit winner - David Fleming (Portlethen).
WLM Golf Handicap Class 2 Order of Merit winner - Hamish McNaughton (Cruden Bay).

TODAY'S ONE-ROUND PRIZEWINNERS 
SCRATCH
65 Nick Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 33-32
66 Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 32-34
67 Jordan Findlay (Paul Lawrie GC) 36-31
68 Craig Lawrie (Paul Lawrie GC) 36-32
69 John Duff (Newmachar) 35-34
HANDICAP
Class 1 - C Cassie (6) 64; S Alliison (7) 67; D Lane (9) bih, T Robertson (2) 68; S Shand (8) 69.
Class 2 - N Chisholm (12) 67; R Masson (11) 68; D Townsley (14) 69; D Duncan (14) 70; A Benton (14) bih 71. 

THURSDAY'S FOURSOMES MATCH-PLAY 
AT CRAIBSTONE 
 Am-am (strokes conceded: 3/8 difference between total handicaps)
8.30  N K Parker (Murcar Links) (14) and Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) (2) versus L Duncan (Craibstone) (14) and D Nelson (Aboyne) (9).
8.40 S Davidson (Northern) (13) and A Gall (Deeside) (4) versus P Low (Craibstone) (11) and J Murray (Banchory) (10)
8.50 B Lumsden (Northern) (10) and L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (10) versus M Winton (Caledonian) (12) and J Scott (Peterculter) (9).
9.00 N Chisholm (Kemnay) (12) and D Bisset (Banchory) (9) versus D Townsley (Peterculter) (14) and J Duncan (Oldmeldrum) (4)

Reserve for any drop-out place: C Duffus (Kemnay) (6)

PHONE 07523 859149 if, for any reason, you are not going to
make it to your specified tee time. 

PRO-AM SCRATCH MATCH-PLAY
+Only three pros were available to play so five amateurs are playing as nominal pros in the following draw. 
9.10  J Duff (Newmachar) and S Allison (Caledonian) versus S Kiloh (Paul Lawrie GC) p and W Skene (Deeside).
9.20  Keil Beveridge (Kippie Lodge) p and J Forrest (Northern) versus D Leslie (Northern) and D Mackay (Hazlehead).
9.30 R Ord (Meldrum House) and M Forster (Cruden Bay) versus T Robertson (Peterculter) and J Borthwick (Craibstone).
9.40 B Nicolson and J Nicolson (Hazlehead) versus J Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen) ap  and C Cassie.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON SEMI-FINALS
at 1.10pm, 1.20, 1.30 and 1.40

FRIDAY's AM-AM AND PRO-AM FINALS
 at 8.30am and 8.40am.