Reay Golf Club: Craig charges up leaderboard for overall Stableford victory
The end of March saw the winter season reach its conclusion at Reay, with a dramatic finale to the North Point Distillery senior competitions providing some excitement.
The final round of the senior Stableford saw some tremendous scores recorded, with Graham Harness topping the leaderboard on the day with an excellent haul of 46 points following a round of 84.
David R Craig birdied the ninth and 13th holes on his way to a fine tally of 43, a score matched by Malcolm Clasper who managed a birdie of his own at the 14th.
Ali Simpson produced a steady round of 86 for 42 points, a tally matched by Alex Anderson, who managed a hat-trick of birdies, at the sixth, eighth and 15th, and Malcolm Thomson, who managed a pair of birdies at the fourth and eighth holes.
The excellent scoring had a major impact on the standings of the overall winter competitions, with David R Craig charging up the leaderboard to take the overall victory in the Stableford competition with an impressive six-round aggregate score of 231.
Malcolm Thomson took second on 228, ahead of Alex Anderson on 227, and long-time leader Carol Paterson had to settle for fourth on 225.
In the final eclectic standings, Alex Anderson’s birdie blitz in the final round helped him to take the win on 59, on countback, ahead of the unlucky Malcolm Thomson who finished as runner-up. Sandy Chisholm took third place on 61, ahead of David R Craig on 63.
Alex MacDonald, co-founder of the North Point Distillery, presented the prizes following the final action on behalf of the sponsors.
The Reay summer season officially got under way on Saturday, with Carol Paterson’s vice-captain’s team winning the first silverware as they defeated Andy Bain’s team by a margin of 6.5 points to 5.5 points.
On Sunday the gents with handicaps below 18 competed for the Ward Trophy, while those with handicaps above 18 played for the High Handicap Trophy.
David Mackay bagged the Ward Trophy following an impressive round of 79 for 39 points and first place, with a birdie at the 14th hole providing the highlight.
Martin Bain had to settle for second place on 38, but did have the consolation of posting a birdie at the 13th hole. Steve Efemey also managed a birdie at the 12th hole as he took third place 36 points ahead of Stuart Greig on countback.
In the High Handicap Trophy, Sandy Chisholm recovered from a slow start to take the silverware on 35 points. Kenny Farmer Snr was second after a birdie at the ninth helped him to a haul of 33, while James Halliday completed the podium places on 27 points.
This Saturday sees the first open of the year in the form the RJ McLeod Spring Scramble for teams of three, while on Sunday the gents will be competing for the George Coupar Challenge Trophy.
