Jeff Wright beats Bruce Thomson in North


Scottish Alliance title play-off

 Robin Wilson's picture of the leading prizewinners at today's North Scottish Alliance championship at Inverness. Left to right - Bruce Thomson (Inverness), scratch runner-up;  Kevin Thomson (Moray), North Scottish Alliance captain making the presentation, trophy winner Jeff Wright (Forres), Bryan Fotheringham (Forres), who was the Scratch Aggregate winner, Ali Mackintosh (Inverness),  Handicap Aggregate winner)

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Jeff Wright (Forres) beat Bruce Thomson (Inverness) at the third hole of a play-off to win the North Scottish Alliance championship for the first time and with it the Sir Hugh Mackenzie Trophy at Inverness Golf Club today (Saturday). They both scored one-under-par 68s (Wright 33-35, Thomson 34-34).
Wright had two birdies and one bogey in halves of 33-35. Thomson birdied the first and third, bogeyed the fourth and then parred the remaining 14 holes in halves of 34,
Jonathon Keith, the Inverness club champion, also scored a 68 (32-36)  but decided to go to Caley Thistle v Ross County football match rather than stay to make it a three-way title play-off. Keith was on schedule to win after birdieing the first, fourth, sixth and 12th but a hat-trick of bogeys through the 13th, 14th and 15th, undid most of the good work.
It might even have been a four-way play-off had defending champion Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) not missed an 8ft putt on the heavily sanded last green (they were all heavily sanded!).
There was some consolation for scratch player Bruce Thomson in that his 68 won him the Class 1 handicap section and with it the Bank of Scotland Quaich.
Fotheringham won the scratch aggregate trophy (best six rounds during season) and Ali Mackintosh (Inverness) won the handicap aggregate trophy.
Marc Windsor (Nairn), won the Jim Thom Quaich for the best net score - a 69 off 12 - in Class 2.

The Senior scratch title  (J A B Little Trophy) was won by Gordon H Hay (Boat of Garten) with a score of 71.

Colin Small, who plays off 11 at Nairn, won the J M C Gourlay Salver as the senior handicap champion.

+The championship play-off was stroke-play aggregate over two extra holes. Wright and Thomson were level after that. The play-off then went into sudden-death and Wright won it at the next hole with a par figure.

NORTH SCOTTISH ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Inverness Golf Club.
par 69

68 J Wright (Forres), J Keith (Inverness), B J Thomson (Inverness) (Wright beat Thomson at third play-off hole).

69 A Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), B Fotheringham (Forres).

71 G H Hay (Boat of Garten).

74 A W Mair (Moray), D Hector (Elgin), J Carpenter (Forres), G Allan (Nairn Dunbar).

75 M McAllan (Elgin) p, J A Grant (Grantown on Spey), D Joel (Inverness), A Philip (Inverness), D Pitchforth (Nairn Dunbar), D McGrouther (Inverness), K Thomson (Moray).

76 R Harrower (Boat of Garten) p, A Henry (Inverness).

77 R Stewart (Nairn Dunbar), R Black (Inverness) p, R McKerron (Forres), J Shaw (Boat of Garten), A Macintosh (Inverness).

78 B Main (Hopeman), S Wilson (Inverness), S Mullen (Elgin), D Gordon (Inverness), R H Stewart (Torvean).

79 N McWilliam (Elgin), A Casey (Moray), I Murray (Boat of Garten), D Grindell (Inverness) p.

80 J Glass (Torvean), A Hutchison (Inverness).

81 S Mitchell (Moray), J S D Campbell (Grantown on Spey), D Johnston (Moray), M Windsor (Nairn), W Hutchison (Inverness).  

LEADING HANDICAP

Class 1

68 B J Thomson (Inverness) (scr).  

69 G Allan (Nairn Dunbar) (5), D McGrouther (Inverness) (6).

70 A Philip (Inverness) (5).

71 A Henry (Inverness) (5), A W Mair (Moray) (3).

Class 2

69 M Windsor (Nairn) (12) .

71 C Small (Nairn)(11), S Laing (Grantown on Spey) (14).

72 A McWilliam (Moray) (16), W B Johnston (Moray) (10), S Taylor (Boat of Garten) (13).

Colin Mavor from Elgin wins Seniors'


Stableford at Monifieth


Colin Mavor (Elgin) took the top prize with a score of 39 Stableford points in the Scottish Seniors Golfing Society competition at Monifieth Links.
Tied second on 38pt were David Millar (St Andrews New), Iain Simpson (Crieff) and Gary Tough (Edzell).
The course was in excellent condition, with the greens running fast and true. The next event is at Drumoig on Friday, March 24.


MONIFIETH LINKS SCOREBOARD
39 pts Colin Mavor (Elgin) (8).
38 David Millar (St Andrews New) (5), Iain Simpson (Crieff) (4), Gary Tough (Edzell) (1).
37 Ian Johnston (Williamwood) (5), Jocky Scott (Grange) (5), Alasdair Macgregor (Hazlehead) (4), Brian Halbert (Callander) (5), Mike Hall (Stirling) (6).
36 Brian Smith (Hamilton) (1), Colin Halcrow (Windyhill) (4).
35 Mark Carruthers (Ladybank) (7), Drew Wilson (Clober) (5), David Halkerston (St Andrews) (7), Dougie Greenhalgh (St Andrews New) (12).
34 Roy Farquhar (Carnoustie) (8), Ian Jeen (Scotscraig) (1), George Barrie (Callander) (2), Denis McQuade (Glenbervie) (6), David Taylor (Dunfermline) (3), Rob Craw (Glenbervie) (2), Keith Ross (Beith) (5), Philip Hendry (Alloa) (4), Gordon Rennie (Cathkin Braes) (2), Phil Dempsey (Tulliallan) (4).
33 Robert Gordon (Glenearn)(11), Bob Stewart (Tulliallan)(1), Lindsay Clark (Edzell) (5), Bob Robertson (Leven) (3), John Gullen (Tillicoultry) (3).
32 Forbes McLennan (Royal Aberdeen) (7), Brad Muir (Dalmahoy) (2), Gordon MacDonald (Glenbervie) (2), David Shields (Glenearn) (scr).
31 Kevin McArthur (Balbirnie Park)( 4), Derek Sim (Grange) (6), Alan White (Newton Stewart) (4), Alex McKay (Monifieth) (5), Brian Kidd (Panmure) (5).
30 Richard Johnston (Glenbervie) (scr), Gerard Mannering (Bothwell Castle) (4).
29 Les Smith (Erskine) (7), David Smith (Stirling) (5), Neil McGarva (Strathaven) (5).
28 Bill Donaldson (St Andrews) (7).
25 Alex Hogg (Stirling) (10).
24 Robert MacGregor (Ladybank) (7).
23 Ewan Robertson (Stirling) (5).
22 Donnie Lindsay (Kilmarnock Barassie) (6).

Chris Williams wins Sharjah play-off

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS Chris Williams secured his second European Senior Tour title by beating Gary Marks in a play-off at the inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters hosted by Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates The South African started the day one shot behind compatriot James Kingston but quickly raced into the lead on 14 under par with three birdies and an eagle in the space of four holes from the fourth to the seventh. A bogey on the eighth hole saw him drop to 13 under par, where he would remain until the end of his round. Three birdies in succession on the back nine enabled Marks tp draw level and the two parred the final hole, with Williams making a wonderful sand save, leaving just a three-foot putt to force a play-off. Marks bogeyed the first play-off hole, and Williams, who turns 58 on Monday, holed from six feet to win his first title since the 2011 Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters. “I played great the first day and I’m just so excited about winning my second tournament,” he said. “I’m two days short of my 58th birthday and you get to a point where you feel like you’re running out of years and to have won a tournament like this is a shot in the arm. “I got a bit anxious with my second shot on the last and it went in the bunker. There wasn’t a lot of room to work with, it was a really tight shot but I played it perfectly under the circumstances. “You can’t put into words how you feel, I’m working just as hard as I was 30 years ago because of the standard on this Tour. I’m so happy to win a tournament again. "I hope it’s not another six years until my next win. It’s nice to get off to a start like this and it’s nice to know I’ll be back on the Tour next year with this win too.” Sharing third place on 12 under par were Senior Tour rising stars Magnus P Atlevi and James Kingston. Atlevi carded the round of the day, a five under par 65, to move one place up the leaderboard after starting the day in fourth. Two-time Senior Major champion Roger Chapman rounded out the top five, a three under par final round of 69, giving him a  total of ten under par. Reigning John Jacobs Trophy holder Paul Broadhurst, who topped the Senior Tour Order of Merit in 2016, finished sixth on nine under par.

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS FINAL TOTALS and PRIZEMONEY 1 WILLIAMS Chris RSA -13 65 70 68 0 0 0 203 0 € 59,550 2 MARKS Gary ENG -13 67 68 68 0 0 0 203 0 € 39,700 3 ATLEVI Magnus P SWE -12 66 71 67 0 0 0 204 0 € 24,812 3 KINGSTON James RSA -12 68 66 70 0 0 0 204 0 € 24,812 5 CHAPMAN Roger ENG -10 70 67 69 0 0 0 206 0 € 17,984 6 BROADHURST Paul ENG -9 70 67 70 0 0 0 207 0 € 15,880 7 BOSSERT André SUI -8 67 71 70 0 0 0 208 0 € 14,292 8 DODD Stephen WAL -7 68 71 70 0 0 0 209 0 € 11,380 8 LUNA Santiago ESP -7 70 70 69 0 0 0 209 0 € 11,380 8 TINNING Steen DEN -7 66 71 72 0 0 0 209 0 € 11,380 11 CONSER Barry USA -6 68 74 68 0 0 0 210 0 € 8,178 11 LINHART Pedro ESP -6 69 72 69 0 0 0 210 0 € 8,178 11 SPENCE Jamie ENG -6 69 71 70 0 0 0 210 0 € 8,178 11 WOLSTENHOLME Gary ENG -6 67 72 71 0 0 0 210 0 € 8,178 11 ZHANG Lianwei CHN -6 70 70 70 0 0 0 210 0 € 8,178 16 THELEN Tim USA -5 70 70 71 0 0 0 211 0 € 6,749 17 MONASTERIO Cesar ARG -4 73 69 70 0 0 0 212 0 € 6,173 17 QUIROS Juan ESP -4 69 73 70 0 0 0 212 0 € 6,173 19 DENNIS Clark USA -3 66 76 71 0 0 0 213 0 € 5,220 19 McGOVERN Brendan IRL -3 72 71 70 0 0 0 213 0 € 5,220 19 RUSNAK Gary USA -3 67 76 70 0 0 0 213 0 € 5,220 19 WESSELINGH Paul ENG -3 70 70 73 0 0 0 213 0 € 5,220 23 BRAND JNR Gordon SCO -2 72 68 74 0 0 0 214 0 € 4,082 23 BROWN Simon P ENG -2 72 68 74 0 0 0 214 0 € 4,082 23 FOWLER Peter AUS -2 71 72 71 0 0 0 214 0 € 4,082 23 MANSON Gordon AUT -2 73 68 73 0 0 0 214 0 € 4,082 23 MARTIN Miguel Angel ESP -2 67 72 75 0 0 0 214 0 € 4,082 23 MOULAND Mark WAL -2 72 70 72 0 0 0 214 0 € 4,082 29 EALES Paul ENG -1 73 70 72 0 0 0 215 0 € 3,434 29 LANE Barry ENG -1 69 75 71 0 0 0 215 0 € 3,434 31 HARWOOD Mike AUS 0 70 76 70 0 0 0 216 0 € 3,136 31 MITCHELL Peter ENG 0 75 68 73 0 0 0 216 0 € 3,136 31 SHERBORNE Andrew ENG 0 72 71 73 0 0 0 216 0 € 3,136 34 DAVIS Mark ENG +1 71 72 74 0 0 0 217 0 € 2,779 34 EMERSON Gary ENG +1 74 68 75 0 0 0 217 0 € 2,779 34 GOLDING Philip ENG +1 73 71 73 0 0 0 217 0 € 2,779 34 RUSSELL David J ENG +1 71 77 69 0 0 0 217 0 € 2,779 38 WALTON Philip IRL +2 72 73 73 0 0 0 218 0 € 2,580 39 DRUMMOND Ross SCO +3 70 75 74 0 0 0 219 0 € 2,382 39 FARRY Marc FRA +3 71 73 75 0 0 0 219 0 € 2,382 39 HALL Jeff ENG +3 74 72 73 0 0 0 219 0 € 2,382 39 WILSON Peter T ENG +3 70 78 71 0 0 0 219 0 € 2,382 43 CARRILES José Manuel ESP +4 73 71 76 0 0 0 220 0 € 2,104 43 MEDNICK Adam SWE +4 70 73 77 0 0 0 220 0 € 2,104 43 RAFFERTY Ronan NIR +4 75 76 69 0 0 0 220 0 € 2,104 46 RICHARDSON Steven ENG +5 76 72 73 0 0 0 221 0 € 1,945 47 RIVERO José ESP +6 77 72 73 0 0 0 222 0 € 1,865 48 MACKENZIE Malcolm ENG +7 73 75 75 0 0 0 223 0 € 1,746 48 SMYTH Des IRL +7 74 75 74 0 0 0 223 0 € 1,746 50 BRAND Gordon J ENG +8 75 77 72 0 0 0 224 0 € 1,627 51 MILLS (AM) John ENG +13 76 75 78 0 0 0 229 0 € 0 52 JOB Nick ENG +14 76 78 76 0 0 0 230 0 € 1,508 52 ROCCA Costantino ITA +14 75 78 77 0 0 0 230 0 € 1,508 54 LARSEN Rene DEN +15 75 78 78 0 0 0 231 0 € 1,349 54 SALLAT Jean Pierre FRA +15 75 84 72 0 0 0 231 0 € 1,349 56 FORSBRAND Anders SWE +18 80 78 76 0 0 0 234 0 € 1,194 57 SULAIMAN (AM) Ramli SIN +30 80 86 80 0 0 0 246 0 € 0

Williams leads by two strokes after nine holes today in Sharjah Senior Masters

(Getty Images)

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Chris Williams went out in 32, four under par, to take a two-shot lead into the final nine holes of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters
The South African started the day one shot behind compatriot James Kingston, who birdied the fourth hole to move to 11 under par.
Williams moved to 14 under after a run of four holes which included three birdies and an eagle, before a bogey on the eighth hole. He parred the ninth to make the turn four under on the day.
Tied for third place are Magnus P Atlevi and Gary Marks on ten under par, while Roger Chapman sits in fifth place just one shot back.
Paul Broadhurst and Steen Tinning are one under par for their third rounds, for a total of eight under with the back nine still to play.

Byrne's bogey-bogey finish costs him


 second place in Malaysia


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Bogeys at the 17th and 18th in a final round of two-under-par 70 cost Banchory exile James Byrne second place in the rain-shortened Asian Development Tour's PGM Northwood Championship at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club, Shah Alam in Malaysia today (Sat).
Byrne finished in a four-way tie for third place with scores of 65, 69 and 70 for 12-under 204.
He birdied the first and third, bogeyed the fourth and then birdied the fifth, 11th  and 16th to be four under par for the round with only two holes to play. Then came that disappointing bogey-bogey finish.
Malaysia's Ben Leong won by seven strokes with scores of 64, 62 and 70 for 200-under 196.
England's Steve Lewton finished second on 203 with scores of 66, 68 and 69.


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