Munro shrugs off challengers to clinch silverware
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Players gathered at Reay on Saturday to compete in the second and final round of the Dunnett Cup.
Those looking to apply pressure on first round leader Gregor Munro were left disappointed as the youngster produced a sublime round of 70 for a nett score of 65. His two round aggregate score of 130 was good enough to take the silverware by an impressive five strokes from his nearest challenger, Stuart Greig, who finished on a tally of 135.
After a bogey at the first, Munro rattled off 12 consecutive pars before a birdie at the long 15th got him back to level par. Three further pars and a bogey at the 17th were good enough for a round of one-over-par 70, the best gross score of the day.
Second place in round two was claimed by another member of the Munro clan, Gregor’s younger brother Euan, with a nett 68. After a shaky start, Euan reached the turn in 42, but showed his class to come home in 37 for a fine gross score of 79. Murray McGlasson, Cammie Ross, and Greig finished a stroke further back after posting rounds of nett 69.
Ross took third place in the overall Dunnett Cup standings on 136, with David Mackay fourth on 138 and Andy Bain fifth on 140.
Sunday saw players competing in teams of two for glory in the McVitie and Price Foursomes. It turned out to be a very closely run affair with competitors enjoying the bright and sunny conditions.
Club stalwarts Ian Ritchie and Kenny Farmer took the spoils after carding a score of nett 71. Alex Mackay and Hugh Millar finished in second place on 72, with Murdo Macdonald and John Disbury taking third place on countback ahead of Simon Harper and Pete McCartney after both pairs posted scores of 72.5.
Round three of the Jacobs Summer Cup was a very low-scoring affair with players relishing the warm conditions.
John Nicolson finished on top of the standings with a superb round of nett 63, courtesy of a gross score of 72. Highlight of his round was a birdie at the tricky 10th. Ross Mackay took second place after a fine round of nett 64.
Tomorrow players will be competing for the captain’s prize. This event also doubles up as the first qualifying round for the club championships.
---------
ONLY 10 members played in the second round of the Summer League played at Wick last Wednesday due to heavy rain for most of the day.
For once there was hardly any wind and what the competition lacked in numbers it made up for in quality with two great scores.
Gordon Steven Jnr (2) showed his class with a brilliant three-under-par 66, the best scratch score so far this year, to win the competition by two strokes from Roy MacKenzie (14) with a nett 64.
Steven had the best of starts with an eagle at the first hole but following bogeys at the fourth and fifth went out in level-par 35 then played magnificent golf to come back in three-under-par 31 with birdies at the 12th, 13th and 18th holes. MacKenzie went out in 42 and played well below his handicap to come back in 38 for a nett 66, a terrific effort. Third was retired greenkeeper Robert Klimas (7) with a nett 71.
The Yellow Ball competition played last Sunday attracted an entry of 42 as the weather was good for golf despite a northerly breeze. Winner of the individual competition by an astonishing six strokes was Gary MacKay (20) with a superb nett 64. MacKay played steady golf to go out in 45 but played like a single handicap player to come back in 39 with a birdie at the 13th.
Graham Hay (18) and Andrew Tait (26) were next with nett 70s with Hay taking second place on a better inward half. Best scratch score was a two-over-par 71 from Ron Taylor who went out in two-over-par 37 and back in level-par 34 with birdies at the 10th and 11th.
It was no surprise the team competition was won by the team which included MacKay and Tait with Graeme Doull the third member returning a nett 70, followed by old-timers Ricky Shearer, George Johnson and Tony Wilson with a nett 72.
The next competition is the John Gunn & Sons Open which is being played on Sunday. The tee will be reserved for competitors from 7.30am to noon with the last tee-off time about 2pm as there is a prize-giving starting at 6pm. The following Wednesday it is the Glennie Medal.
------------
THE Newsbeat Summer League was played last Thursday and Friday at Thurso Golf Club to the Stableford format.
Andrew Main (13) and Andy Macgregor (12) tied at the top of the leader board with 39 points after each had excellent rounds.
Both players were out in 19 points and back in 20 and it was the better last six holes that resulted in Main being the main man. Steven MacDonald (26), Ronnie Gray (11) and Jimmy Meiklejohn (7) finished in that order after all scored 37 points. Gavin Souter (13) had 36 points.
Gary Calder (6) took the honours on the Friday with 37 points. After going out in one over par for 20 points, everything was going to plan until the 17th where a 10 somewhat spoilt things. A birdie three at the last was some consolation. Iain Boyd (14) beat his brother Hamish (11) by a shot after scoring 34 points. Gregor Munro (5) and Nicky Doherty (6) matched Hamish Boyd’s 33 points.
The Randall Trophy was played for on Friday evening. This competition is a mixed pairs competition organised by the ladies. Winners with a nett 75 were Alison Campbell and Harvey Cowe. Runners-up were Jane Grant and Ali Simpson, with Moira McBeath and Ivan Patterson.
On Saturday, the men competed for the May Medal with the round also counting as the first qualifying round for the club championship. Innes Mitchell (8) had the lowest gross score of the day, which after handicap subtraction, gave him a winning score of nett 65. Steven MacDonald (25) and Donald Sutherland (8) tied on nett 66 with MacDonald taking second with the better inward half. Three players, Andrew Main (12), Alan Simmonite (18) and Dougie Wright (7), returned nett 69, with Jocky Begg (18) a shot further back.
The sun shone on Sunday for the Comm Bar Open and a good turnout of competitors took advantage of the conditions. Jocky Begg returned a nett 67 to win by a shot from Hamish Boyd (11).
Third spot was taken by Dougie Thorburn (+1) with a nett 69 after returning the lowest gross score of 68. Sid Campbell (11), Lee Parnell (5) from Reay, and Roddy Harper (3) all had nett 70s with Steve Grogan (16), Ronnie Gray (10), Iain Boyd (14) and Walter Rutherford (11) a shot further back.
A blustery wind added to the challenge for the seniors on Tuesday when they contested round eight of the EGGS Summer Eclectic. On a day when most cards showed at least one blank hole, Alan Simmonite put two blanks on his outward nine behind him as he scored 19 points.
He proceeded to add 17 more on the way in for a comfortable win. George Mitchell was well in the running with a couple of holes to go but failed to get any points at the 17th and had to settle for second place with 34 points, a total shared with Martin Beaumont who scored at least one point on every hole. Bob Robertson and Jim Buchan finished a further point back.
Tuesday evening saw the ladies play for the captain and vice-captain prizes. Laura Durrand (6) mastered the difficult conditions to win the captain’s prize with a nett 71. Junior lady Sarah Meiklejohn took the vice-captain’s prize.
