Home   Sport   Article

More than 70 players compete for prizes in NC500 Links Open at Reay and Wick


By Contributor

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!
Alex Anderson teeing off at the ninth hole at Wick Golf Club.
Alex Anderson teeing off at the ninth hole at Wick Golf Club.

Reay and Wick co-hosted the NC500 Links Open at the weekend, with an excellent field of more than 70 players competing for a range of prizes over the two days.

Both courses were presented in fantastic condition by their respective greenkeeping teams, with a steady wind from the north and occasional showers presenting a stern challenge for golfers on both days.

Round one was sponsored by CS Drilling Services and round two was sponsored by Hugh Simpson Contractors.

Round one at Reay saw Nicky Klimas take the lead in the scratch competition after a fine round of 71, with Gregor Munro hot on his heels after a 72, and Gordie Steven and Eleanor Tunn handily placed a stroke further back after both shot rounds of 73.

Alan Larnach was also in the hunt after a 74, with Euan Munro and Brent Munro in contention too on 75.

Meanwhile, there was some red-hot scoring in the handicap competition with three nett 65s posted by Kenny Farmer Jnr, Carol Paterson and Kenny Farmer Snr. Next best were Donald Mowat on nett 67, Colin Munro on 68, Hannah McLean on 69 and Pam Bain on 70, with Graeme Henderson and Jordan Youngson both very much in the hunt after rounds of nett 71.

Donald Mowat (left) and John Hunter at the first tee at the Reay course.
Donald Mowat (left) and John Hunter at the first tee at the Reay course.

Round two at Wick was played with the front nine into the teeth of the wind, but with the breeze at their tails for the inward half several players made a charge for glory. Michael Smith shot the best round of the day with a super 69 to catapult himself up the standings, but a first round of 75 left him with too much ground to make up in the scratch competition.

After Gregor Munro fired an excellent round of 71, and Gordie Steven went one better to card a round of 70, countback was required to determine the scratch winner, with Steven getting the nod after both players finished on 143. Nicky Klimas posted a round of 75 to bag third place on 146.

The spectacular scoring in the handicap competition continued on Sunday with Kenny Farmer Snr and Kenny Farmer Jnr both posting best-of-the-day nett scores of 64. With both finishing on aggregate scores of 129, countback was again required to determine the overall handicap prize winner, with Farmer Jnr getting the nod.

Carol Paterson putting at the 12th hole at Reay.
Carol Paterson putting at the 12th hole at Reay.

Farmer Snr had the consolation of winning the category two competition ahead of Carol Paterson who shot a fine round of nett 70 to finish on 135. Hannah McLean took third on 140 after a round of 71, with Ross Macadie claiming fourth on 144, while Adam Hill pipped Jack Coghill to fifth place on countback after both finished on scores of 145.

In category one, Michael Smith’s fine round secured him top spot on 138, ahead of Colin Munro who shot a round of nett 73 to finish on 141. Brent Munro took third place on countback after a round of 75 gave him a nett 72 for 144, ahead of Graeme Henderson and Jordan Youngson who also finished on 144. Bryan Suttar completed the category one prizes, bagging sixth place on 146.

Outwith the 36-hole prizes, Donald Mowat won the best 18-hole score a Reay courtesy of his nett 67, while James Howden fired a fine nett 69 at Wick to win the 18-hole prize on offer on day two.

Sarah Meiklejohn and Tom Ross won the nearest-the-pin prizes on offer at Reay on Saturday, while Gregor Munro won the nearest-the-pin prize at Wick on Sunday. The longest-drive prizes at Wick went to Gregor Munro, Sean Campbell and Eleanor Tunn.

Nicky Klimas putting on the fourth green at Wick during the NC500 Links Open.
Nicky Klimas putting on the fourth green at Wick during the NC500 Links Open.

In normal club business at Reay, round four of the Summer Cup saw some spectacular scoring with James Halliday topping the leaderboard on countback after an excellent haul of 40 points which could have been even better after a non-counting hole at the fourth.

Tom Ross produced the round of the day, bagging a spectacular five birdies on his way to a score of 66 for 40 points.

Andy Bain birdied the third on his way to a round of 72 to also card a score of 40 points. Gregor Munro also bagged five birdies during a fine round of 68 for a score of 38 points, a tally matched by Michael Smith who posted three birdies on his way to a round of 70.

In the latest action in the North Point Distillery Senior Stableford competition, Willie Steven, Mike Halliday and Kenny Farmer Snr finished at the top of the standings on 36 points, while Stuart Grieg managed a brace of birdies at the 12th and 15th holes to take fourth place on 35.

This weekend sees the gents at Reay competing in the June Medal, which doubles up as the third qualifying round for the club championship.

Wick Golf Club ladies' competitions for May:

Thursday, May 5 – Championship round two, medal three: 1 Bashia Sandecka, 94 (23) 71; 2 Hannah McLean, 97 (22) 75 BIH; 3 Maureen Johnson, 103 (28) 75. Thursday, May 12 – Silver Purse, medal four: 1 Angela Williamson, 94 (20) 74; 2 Hannah McLean, 97 (22) 75; 3 Fiona Harper, 117 (39) 78. Thursday, May 19 – Macmillan Stableford: 1 Dee Macangus, 35 pts; 2 Hannah McLean, 34 pts; 3 Joyce Macdonald, 32 pts.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More