John Forbes retains North District Order of Merit title

 By ROBIN WILSON

Points collected from the final counting event, the 72 Hole North of Scotland Open Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch, helped Inverness's John Forbes win for a second year the North District's 2017 Order of Merit table.

Secretary of Muir of Ord Golf Club, Forbes, topped  the final table with 280 pts from four events, the Moray Open (50), the North District club team competition at Golspie (90),  the Black Isle Open (10) and finally 130 points from the 72 hole championship at Dornoch.

Fortrose and Rosemarkie's Lewis Reid's 160 pts from Dornoch gained him second place on 255 pts and finishing third was Jordon Shaw (Boat of Garten) whose 180 pts from Dornoch brought him to a total of 235.

Other top ten finishers were:

Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) 230

Chris Mailley (Royal Dornoch) 225

Cameron Franssen (Inverness) 200

Kyle Godsman (Moray) 200

Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) 175

Lyle McAlpine (Tain) 175

Matty Wilson (Forres) 165

Jeff Wright (Forres) 160.

 

   

Over the Forres Golf Course last week the North District's junior season came to an end with the Forres Club Professional Sandy Aird's Junior Match-Play Championships and also the conclusion to the junior Order of Merit tables.

 

Winning the Scratch Aird Cup for under-18s  was Steven Pears (The Nairn) who beat Matty Wilson (Forres) in the final at the 20^th hole. In the under-15s final for the District Cup the winner also came from Nairn, Logan Gillies over powering Ewan Cuthbert (Inverness) in the final by 5 & 3. 

 

Three Fortrose & Rosemarkie juniors were prominent in the handicap match-play, Jack Mann, Jack MacLean and Ben Patience. MacLean and Patience met in the first round and MacLean won this tie only to lose in round two to eventual winner Eaun Docherty (Moray). Mann, aged eleven, and with a handicap of 20 was the leading handicap qualifier and fought his way through to the final to lose narrowly at the last hole to Docherty.

 

In the under-14 Merit Table Nairn's Calum Scott topped it with 103 points, four ahead of Inverness's Calum Daun. The under-16 age group winner was Logan Gillies (Nairn) with 100 points followed by Golspie's Danny Doogan (90).  Steven Pears (Nairn Dunbar) topped the under-18 table with 97 points with Jamie MacKintosh (Nairn) second on 81.