Last North-east Alliance meeting until January 10

FIRST WIN OF SEASON FOR COLIN
NELSON AT CRUDEN BAY

From COLIN FARQUHARSON

(Any comments? E-mail me at colin@scottishgolfview.com)

Mackenzie Club, Hazlehead professional Colin Nelson, pictured right, achieved his first win of the North-east Golfers’ Alliance season with a two-under-par round of 66 over the winter course at Cruden Bay.
The field of 78 played the first seven holes and the 17th and 18th of the main course plus the nine-hole St Olaf circuit.
Colin birdied the first, third and ninth and was still three under par with three to play. Then he slipped up with bogeys at the 16th and 17th before finishing with a 2 at the 125yd last hole. That last birdie was to make all the difference in the final analysis.
Newburgh club professional Ian Bratton finished one shot behind on 67 – despite starting 5-8 to be five over par after only two holes. He then covered the remaining holes in six under par with birdies at the third, fifth, sixth, seventh, 10th and 18th, reducing the St Olaf course to 30 strokes.
Willie Forbes, who plays off 15 at Murcar Links, had a noteworthy victory by eight strokes in the Class 2 handicap section. Willie went round in 75 gross for a net eight-under-par 60.
The field would have been up in the 90s, had everybody who put their names down to play on the sheet at Portlethen last week turned up. Instead there were numerous withdrawals, surprisingly eight or nine this morning when it was evident that it was going to be a day of fine, clear blue skies.
Mind you, probably a field of around 78 is just about the correct figure to get everybody round in daylight on the first Wednesday in December.
Secretary Ron Menzies drew up a pace-of-play table and, in the main, everybody finished in the time they should have finished in although he did admit that the playing time allowance was "generous!"
Perhaps the "discussion" on the slow-play problem on www.scottishgolfview.com over the past week helped to focus everybody's mind on getting round without delay.

LEADING SCORES
Par 68
SCRATCH
66 C Nelson (Mackenzie Club) p.
67 I Bratton (Newburgh) p.
69 T Mathieson (Murcar Links), S Finnie (Caledonian).
70 A Buchan (Cruden Bay), N Murray (Cruden Bay) p, E Kennedy (Stonehaven).
71 A Campbell (Deeside), D Garrett (Huntly), S Davidson (Banchory) p, S Troup (King's Links) ap.
72 G Grimmer (Nigg Bay), C Carnegie (Kemnay).
73 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen), J Nicolson (Auchmill), F Bisset (Banchory), N Reid (Deeside) ap, R McDonald (Kemnay) p.
74 W Main (Murcar Links), R Hyland (Newmachar), A Swift (Auchmill), R Stewart (Cruden Bay) p, C Clark (Mackenzie Club) p.
75 W Forbes (Murcar Links), S Lawrie (Portlethen).
76 J Roberts (Cruden Bay), W S Urquhart (Murcar Links), S Chalmers (Banchory) ap.
77 C Cassie (Nigg Bay), B Harper (Newburgh), A Grant (Portlethen), I D Smith (Hazlehead), K Minty (Turriff).
78 F G Gray (Deeside), R L Nicoll (Murcar Links), K McGilvray (Craibstone), D Wilson (Duff House Royal), D Nelson (Aboyne).
79 S Elrick (Kemnay), I Strachan (Royal Aberdeen).
80 F Barclay (Kintore), K Smith (Aboyne), J Murray (Banchory).
81 L Barbour (Cruden Bay), D McKay (Caledonian).
HANDICAP
Class 1 – L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (8) 65; A Buchan (Cruden Bay) (4) 66; S Lawrie (Portlethen) (8) 67; S Finnie (Caledonian) (scr), D Garrett (Huntly) (12), J Nicolson (Auchmill) (4), F Bisset (Banchory), J Robertson (Cruden Bay) (6), C Cassie (Nigg Bay) (8), K Minty (Turriff) (8), K McGilvray (Craibstone) (8) 69; E Kennedy (Stonehaven) (scr), G Grimmer (Nigg Bay) (2), C Carnegie (Kemnay) (2), A Swift (Auchmill) (4), A Grant (Portlethen) (7) 70.

Class 2 – W Forbes (Murcar Links) (15) 60; I Strachan (Royal Aberdeen) (11), R Addison (Newburgh) (18) 68; P Cornfield (Auchmill)( (11) 71; H McNaughton (Cruden Bay) (10), D Wood (Newburgh) (14), M F R Rogers (Kemnay) (14), G Travis (Auchmill) (15) 72; K Duncan (Cruden Bay) (12), R Alison (Deeside) (13), J Jones (Craibstone) (16) 73; W D Rae (Kemnay) (11), D Moir (Murcar Links) (12), S Youngston (Turriff) (15) 75.

LEADING SCORECARDS OVER CRUDEN BAY WINTER (or "Flat") COURSE
Par: 68
OUT: 4-4-4-3-4-5-4-4-4-36
IN: 4 -3-4-4-3-4-3-4-3-32

COLIN NELSON 66
OUT: 3-4-3-3-4-5-4-4-3-33
IN: 4-3-4-4-3-4-4-5-2-33

IAN BRATTON 67
OUT: 5-8-3-3-2-4-3-4-4-37
IN: 3-3-4-4-3-4-3-4-2-30

TERRY MATHIESON 69
OUT: 4-4-3-4-5-5-4--4-4-37
IN: 4-4-3-3-3-4-3-5-3-32

STEWART FINNIE 69
OUT: 3-4-3-3-5-5-5-4-4-36
IN: 4-3-4-4-3-4-3-5-3-33

LEADING SENIOR SCORES
SCRATCH
73 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen).
75 W Forbes (Murcar Links).
76 W S Urquhart (Murcar Links).
77 I D Smith (hazlehead).
78 R L Nicoll (Murcar Links), D Nelson (Aboyne).
81 D McKay (Caledonian).
HANDICAP
60 W Forbes (Murcar Links) (15).
65 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (8)
68 R Addison (Newburgh) (18).
72 D Nelson (Aboyne) (6), D Wood (Newburgh) (14), M F R Rogers (Kemnay).
73 I D Smith (Hazlehead) (4), R L Nicoll (Murcar Links), R Alison (Deeside) (13), J Jones (Craibstone) (16).
75 W D Rae (Kemnay) (11), S Youngson (Turriff).


+Next meeting at Craibstone Golf Centre, Wednesday, January 10.