Sangster makes amends at Thurso
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HELDOVER by two weeks to allow the Thurso golf course to dry out from heavy rain, the club’s North Golf Alliance fixture was played on October 23.
It gave the opportunity for Tain’s Mike Sangster to make amends for losing out on a second place at Durness and register his first winning scratch place at Thurso.
In the first fixture of the new season at Durness, Sangster lost the second scratch place on countback to his club-mate, Munro Ferries, but gained some consolation from winning the low-handicap section with nett 69. At Thurso he enjoyed a three-shot win while the home club favourites were still recovering from their previous evening’s attendance at their club’s annual presentation of trophies.
Against the Thurso par of 35 the Tain three handicapper went out in a two over score of 37 but on the return leg to the clubhouse he got back to level par with two birdies in a run of four holes from the 12th to the 14th. His one scary moment came at the 16th when he missed his tee shot but scraped a bogey five to bring his inward card back to 33 for the winning one-over-par 70.
Local member Bryan Ronald, the season’s first winner at Durness, finished with 73 to get a second place and the home members failed to achieve higher than third in either of the two handicap sections.
Tain’s Raymond Lockie was the winner in class one with a nett 69, off nine, two ahead of the first Caithness golfer to register a prize-winning score, Wick’s John Hunter, a fine gross 75 which earned him a nett 71 and second handicap.
Durness members carried over their home dominance of the class-two handicap section, three of their home winners once more prominent. John Mackenzie and Gerald Klein each moved up a place, Mackenzie matching the nett par of 69 and Klein in second place one behind.
The only local member with a handicap prize-winning card was Stanley Ross whose inward count beat Durness’s David Corbett for third place.
Thurso results – Scratch: M. Sangster (Tain) 70; B. Ronald (Thurso) 73. Handicap class one: R. Lockie (Tain) (9) 69; J. Hunter (Wick) (4) 71; J. Mac-Ivor (Invergordon) (6) 73; W. Mowat (Reay) (6) 74. Class two: J. MacKenzie (Durness) (16) 69; G. Klein (Durness) (20) 70; S. Ross (Thurso) (13) 72; D. Corbett (Durness) (15) 72.
Brora hosts the Alliance fixture this weekend and on Saturday hand over the course to friends of the late Donald Mackay who run a competition in his memory while raising funds for the local surgery heart-start equipment fund. The former Brora Rangers and Ross County midfield general died suddenly in January 2004 and all former footballing friends and colleagues are welcome to play.
It is a 15-hole sweepstake competition with an entry fee of £7.50. A starting time can be booked with the Brora secretary on 01408 621409.
