Millicent Bowl winners at Golspie. Left to Right. Back row, Sandy Mackenzie (Golspie Club President), Jack Featherstone (sponsors representative from Clynelish Distillery), Daniel Holden (Royal Dornoch). Front Row,  L  to R. – Darren Hexley (Golspie), James MacKenzie (Golspie Millicent Bowl Winner), Gary Urquhart (Alness Campbell Shield Winner)

Gary Urquhart completes Golspie title set by 

winning Campbell Shield    

By ROBIN WILSON

Gary Urquhart,  a boyhood member of Golspie Golf Club, has, since his younger years and then with a greenkeeping career  that has taken him to Australia and a return to be head greenkeeper at Alness Golf Club, saw his ambition of winning all Golspie's open scratch cups realised last Saturday with a  Campbell Shield success.

Urquhart, now 37, was already a winner of the Sinclair Cup and the Golspie Classic 36-hole events.   The scratch Campbell Shield is played in conjunction with the Millicent Bowl, the first of the County's 36 hole opens of the season.

Last Saturday it was played in very difficult conditions featuring a very strong wind interlaced with squally showers to hamper any ladder building scores on the outward half and on completion of the 36 holes very few sub-80 cards were returned.                         

Urquhart's two outward counts were 40 and 41 to which with a helping wind on the back nine he added 37 and 35 for 77and 76 (153) to lead the scratch returns by four shots from another Golspie exile greenkeeper, Darren Hexley who shot 79 and 78 for 157

In third place was Royal Dornoch's Daniel Holden with 80 and 78 for 158. Holden had the excitement of a hole in one at the second hole in round two and he also enjoyed the sponsor’s dram of a bottle of Clynelish whisky for a magic two's score..

The Millicent Bowl Trophy was won by local member James Mackenzie with two nett cards of 72 and 76, from handicap 13, for nett 148 while Urquhart's much younger Alness seven handicap holder, Connor Hall (20),  improved on his first round nett 80 to add a nett 71 for 151 and second place.

Results

CSS 73 (both rounds). 

Scratch

G Urquhart (Alness) 153 (77-76). D Hexley (Golspie) 157 (79-78). D Holden (Royal Dornoch) 158 (80-78). 

Handicap 

J MacKenzie (Golspie) (13) 148. C Hall (Alness) (7) 151. C S Sutherland (Golspie) (17) 151.