Left to right: Bryan Fotheringham, Donald Sutherland (Brora club captain), Malcolm Campbell (captain of James Braid Society), Brora GC secretary Tony Gill, Ken Lorimer (Brora).

Bryan Fotheringham and Chris Mailley 

shoot record 65s at Brora

By ROBIN WILSON

The real impact of the North District's Order of Merit challenge was seen on the Brora golf course last Saturday with over 90 playing in the James Braid 36 hole open when the standard and quality of scoring was the best seen since the club's heydays of the 1990's

Scratch and plus handicap bearing golfers, all of them featuring in the 2016 Order of Merit table, broke par in one or both rounds and an amateur course record of 65 was set in round two by Bryan Fotheringham (Forres), then equalled by the previous record holder, Royal Dornoch's Chris Mailley.

Their cards:

Bryan Fotheringham:  

OUT:  3 4 4 3 4 2 4 5 3 (32) 

   IN:   3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 (33) = 65

Chris Mailley: 

OUT:  4 3 4 3 4 2 4 3 3 (30)

    IN:  5 4 5 3 4 3 3 5 3 (35) = 65

Nairn's reigning North District Champion Fraser Fotheringham led the first round challenge for the Howey Cup with a five birdie two under par first card of 68 (35-33). 

Close behind, and also with an inward 33, to add to his first nine 36 for 69 came Muir of Ord's John Forbes before the arrival of two ex District champions, all with level par 70's - Dougie Thorburn (Thurso) (36-34) and Bryan Fotheringham  (Forres) (35-35). 

Also on level par 70 was the cup holder, Chris Mailley of Royal Dornoch, and Brora and Inverness teenager Cameron Franssen.

In the first round mix were, Inverness's senior Laurie Chancellor, Dornoch's Bryan Urquhart both 71, Robert MacKay (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), Robert McKerron (Forres), former winner Iain Powell (Murcar Links) and the best of the home members Robert MacDonald, all with 72.

Chasing down the Sponsor's Royal Marine Hotel Trophy were Rory MacPherson (The Nairn) (13) 66, and the local pair of Ken Lorimer (11) 67 and Ian Davidson (19) 67. A stroke back was Robert MacKay's nett 68, of 4. Mackay had learned his golf at Brora when a Helmsdale laddie and his second round score improved by one to nett 67 to scoop the Marine Hotel Trophy with 135 after two rounds.

The Clubhouse was buzzing when the 3 handicapper from Forres came in with his new course record card of 65 but he did not count on the determination of Mailley to match it. Indeed Mailley just lipped out for a final birdie two which would have given him a 64 as they were joined on the 135 aggregate by Nairn's Fotheringham (67-68). (The two Fotheringhams, not related, both hold +3 handicaps and Mailley +2).

With a second round gross 70, nett 67 regular visitor to Brora, Dougie Brown from Prestwick Golf Club, hauled himself up into a second nett place behind Mackay and was rewarded with the Kidd Cup from the Class 1 Section while local Ken Lorimer (hdc 11) netted a total of 137 to win the Duke of Sutherland Cup from Section 2.  Confined to members of the James Braid Society Brora's club Secretary, Tony Gill won the James Braid Plinth with nett scores of 73 and 68.

Results

CSS am: home 70, away 70; pm: home 69, away 70) 

Howey Cup - Scratch

135 B Fotheringham (Forres) 70 65 (better last nine), C Mailley (Royal Dornoch) 70-65, F Fotheringham (The Nairn) 68-67.

138 C Franssen (Inverness) 70-68. 

140 J Forbes (Muir of Ord) 69 71. 

141 D Thorburn (Thurso) 70 71. 

143 R J Mackay (Fortrose) 72 71, B Urquhart (Royal Dornoch) 71-72. 

144 D M Brown (Prestwick) 74 70, R N MacDonald (Brora) 73-71.

Handicap: 

Class 1 - Kidd Cup – D M Brown (Prestwick) (3),  R N MacDonald (Brora) (3) 138; M Schinkel (Orkney) (3) 139; D J Sutherland (Brora) (8) 139. 

Class 2: Duke of Sutherland Cup – K Lorimer (Brora) (11) 137; I Davidson (Brora) (19) 140; R MacPherson (The Nairn) (13) 142; F Oliver (Dunblane) (16) 144.

   

The Sponsor's Mixed Foursomes competition followed the next day when the 2015 Brora Ladies Open champion from Wick, Deirdre MacAngus partnered local John Sutherland to record a scratch 77, two ahead of local member Liam MacDonald-MacLeod and his Florida partner Lindsey Moffat (Streamsong Golf Resort)

Craig MacKay who led the best of the local amateurs in the Northern Open at Royal Dornoch ended his week with the Sponsor's Royal Marine Hotel Trophy after partnering Golspie's Lesley Cranna to a nett 68½, the only sub seventy score returned.

 The other handicap winners were – 

Class 1 – D and  M Morrison (Strathpeffer) 72½; Tony and Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) 73. 

Class 2 – Alex and Anne Gunn (Royal Dornoch) 72; Mike MacKintosh and Lynda MacKay (Brora) 73½.  

           Five times Open champion Peter Thomson presents prizes at Brora 

To the astonishment and surprise of the prize winners they received their prizes from the hands of Brora's Honorary Club member and five time Open Champion Peter Thomson CBE from Melbourne Australia. 

Thomson who will be 87 in August was making a special visit to Brora to carry out the official opening of a room dedicated to him as a long and faithful ambassador of Brora Golf Course.. He has donated pictures and memorabilia to the club of his many golfing triumphs since he turned professional after winning the Australian Open as an amateur in 1949 and from a fourth place tie in his first Open of 1952 won five championships between the years 1954 to 1964.