Halliday's pair of prizes in Rotary Open and senior Stableford
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
It was another busy week on the course at Reay and it proved to be a profitable one for Mike Halliday as he pocketed a couple of prizes.
First up was the Rotary Open which was played in breezy conditions, making the final stretch of holes particularly gruelling.
The conditions were not an issue for Halliday and he claimed the trophy with an excellent tally of 39 Stableford points following a steady round of 84. Thurso’s Sandy Cumming took second place after a fine front nine laid the foundations for a haul of 36 points.
Colin Munro, with birdies at the 12th and 14th, took third place ahead of Mark Foubister on countback after both finished on 35 points. A trio of players, Fred Groves, Ian Ross, and Alex Anderson, were next best on 34 points.
Halliday also bagged a bottle of spiced rum courtesy of North Point Distillery after winning the nearest-the-pin competition in the latest action in the senior Stableford competition. However, it was Jack Johnstone who posted the best round of the day with an excellent 42 points after a steady performance.
Fred Groves and Colin Struthers tied for second place on 37 points, with Kenny Farmer Snr and Alex Anderson, who was helped by birdies at the eighth and ninth, next best on 36.
In the ladies’ section, a good start from Nicola Campbell was key to securing victory in the Hamilton Trophy with an excellent score of nett 66. Eleanor Tunn had to settle for second place after a blistering round of 69 – which included no fewer than four birdies, at the third, fourth, ninth and 14th holes – was good enough for nett 67.
Pauline Craig finished strongly, parring the final four holes to take third place on nett 68. The in-form Sarah Meiklejohn birdied the 12th on her way to a round of nett 69 and fourth place, while Carol Paterson managed a rare birdie at the second hole on her way to a round of 70 for fifth.
Several Reay ladies were also in action elsewhere, with Eleanor Tunn joining Thurso’s Laura Durrand to give a strong Caithness representation in the Northern Counties team who were competing in the Inter-County Jamboree at the Kings Golf Club in Inverness over the weekend.
In the Navcommsta Open, hosted by Wick Golf Club, Pam Bain came home with the overall scratch prize and Rebecca Munro claimed the overall handicap prize where she was joined on the winners' podium by Sarah Meiklejohn who finished third.
David R Craig also created his own little bit of history by becoming the first player to retain the Ross Bogey competition. The bogey format requires players to use their handicap allowances to compete against the course in a match-play format of golf, and Craig’s round of 85 was good enough to see him finish with a score of four up. Graeme Fryett was a distant second, finishing five down, with Doug Mackenzie next best on a score of six down.
The red-hot scoring continued in round two of the Strokeplay Championship, with Leslie Malcolm, Donald Mowat and Jason Norwood all finishing on scores of nett 66. Malcolm took the win on the night on countback, but Mowat had the consolation of a birdie at the 13th and Norwood also managed a solitary birdie at the 15th.
Jack Johnstone claimed fourth place after a birdie at the 16th helped him to a nett 67. Tom Ross carded the lowest gross score of the day with a round of 69 which included an eagle at the sixth and birdies at the ninth, 13th, 14th and 16th holes.
This weekend will see players competing in the Banks Medal on Saturday.
