Birdie at 14th proves crucial as Forbes takes Reay silverware
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Action at Reay Golf Club has been sporadic of late, with some wet and windy weekends leaving players kicking their heels. However, when suitable weather windows have presented themselves the fairways have been busy with some good scores carded.
The January Medal was a tight affair, with countback required to determine the winner. Ryan Forbes and Alistair Gunn both posted rounds of nett 67 but it was Forbes who took the silverware thanks to a better inward half which included a crucial birdie at the 14th.
Wayne Mowat, who has made a welcome return to competitive action this winter, finished third on nett 68 after a fine round of 74 which was the best gross score of the day. John O’Brien and Simon Harper were next best with a pair of nett 69s.
Only two players completed the full 18 holes in the Winter Eclectic – Aly Simpson and Malcolm Clasper, who deserve recognition for toughing it out in challenging weather.
Simpson’s nett 79 beat his playing partner by four strokes but in the overall Eclectic standings it is as you were, with Lee Parnell still leading the way on a score of 63, ahead of Andy Bain on 66 and Ian Farquhar on 68.
Fred Groves won round eight of the winter league Stableford on countback with a solid return of 36 points ahead of Kenny Farmer, who matched his score.
Cammie Ross completed the podium places with a score of 35.
Countback was also required to determine the winner of round nine, with John Nicolson pipping Aly Simpson to top spot after both amassed a tally of 37 points. Kenny Farmer completed the podium places on 36 points.
Round 10 was played in calm conditions and this was reflected in the scoring, with John O’Brien finishing at the top with an excellent 39 points.
Grant Maxwell was second on 38, with Simon Harper third on 37.
In the overall Stableford standings, Harper leads the way with a four-round aggregate score of 145, one ahead of Sandy Chisholm and Kenny Farmer on 144.
The wind had died down, the rain had stopped and the sun came out on Tuesday for round five of the Thurso Golf Club EGGS Winter Eclectic.
After starting with a no-score, Norman Innes collected 19 Stableford points over the first half of the course. Clark Grant scored at each hole on his way to a similar score.
Kenny Cameron was a shot further back, with a trio on the 16-point mark.
Innes had a steady back nine holes for 16 points and the winning total of 35.
Ronnie Gray played both halves in 16 points to take the runner-up spot. Alan Simmonite scored at every hole to take third place with 31 points.
Grant, Ian Manson and Peter Knight were the only other players to score in the thirties.
