Souter and Wyllie take senior and handicap honours at Thurso
The weather-delayed 2024 men’s club championships at Thurso reached their decisive stages last Friday with both the senior and handicap finals being played. The scratch final has been postponed due to the unavailability of both finalists.
The competition began on August 5 with the quarter-finals.
In the seniors, Gavin Souter edged out veteran Ronnie Gray while Innes Mitchell beat Andrew Main. In the other half of the draw, Davy Irvine accounted for Ian MacDonald to set up a semi-final meeting with club championship debutant Reiss Reid, who overcame Ian MacPhee.
In the handicap competition Stephen Spargo got past Steven Lowe to go through to meet Steve Osborne, who beat Ronnie Dunnett.
Steve Wyllie was victorious in his match with former champion Ross Sutherland, while Allan Craigie got the better of current scratch champion Graeme Henderson.
In the scratch championship Tyler Gordon beat Jack Fidler to book his semi-final place against Alan Swanson, who defeated Cameron Reid in a very close match.
The bottom half of the draw saw the evergreen Jim Sangster win against Iain Dunnet, again in a very close encounter. Bryan Suttar completed the semi-final quartet with a great win against Jordan Youngson.
The semi-finals were due to be played on August 7 but were called off due to poor weather. As a consequence, the original date of the final, August 9, was also scrapped.
The semis eventually got under way the following week.
In the seniors, Gavin Souter beat Innes Mitchell on the 18th hole to set up a final against Davy Irvine, who emerged victorious against Reiss Reid.
The handicap semis saw Stephen Spargo come out on top against Steve Osborne. The other finalist was Steve Wyllie, who fought off the challenge of Allan Craigie.
The first semi-final in the scratch competition was a battle of youth versus experience as Tyler Gordon took on Alan Swanson. On this occasion youth prevailed with Tyler securing a comfortable win to claim his place in the final.
The other semi was hotly contested with both players playing some excellent golf. The match was completed on the 16th hole, where a superb birdie from Jim Sangster sealed his victory against Bryan Suttar.
The finals were played in very testing conditions, with a strong wind sweeping across the course and the threat of rain never far away – standard conditions for the 2024 season!
The seniors’ final teed off first, Gavin Souter versus Davy Irvine, with the first hole being halved. Irvine found bunker trouble at the second to lose the hole and a par from Souter at the third saw him double his lead.
The lead was increased further at the fourth, Souter three up after four. The fifth was halved before Souter again extended his lead on hole six.
A fine birdie four at the par-five seventh hole put Souter five up and into a very commanding position. After halving the eighth, Irvine got a hole back at the ninth which left Souter four up at the turn.
Souter won both holes around Thurso’s version of Amen Corner (10th and 11th holes) to move into an almost unassailable lead: Souter six up. However, Irvine wasn’t done yet and produced a moment of magic as he holed his pitch shot at the difficult 12th hole for a marvellous birdie two.
But this was only delaying the inevitable as the match was completed at the next hole after Irvine found trouble off the tee.
It was a superb performance from the 2024 senior champion Gavin Souter, especially considering the conditions.
The handicap final, Stephen Spargo versus Steve Wyllie, proved to be an enthralling contest. The handicap difference meant that Wyllie received 18 shots, so a shot a hole.
Wyllie took the initiative straight away, winning the first hole, but his advantage was given straight back as a fine par at the second by Spargo restored parity. A nett birdie at the third saw Wyllie go one up once more, only to be pegged back after finding trouble at the long fourth.
The next four holes were halved and by this stage it was clear that there was not going to be much between the players. Wyllie managed to nudge ahead again on the ninth as both players parred, with Wyllie’s shot giving him another nett birdie and the halfway lead.
However, once again Wyllie gave up his lead as he found trouble on the long, difficult 10th hole. Both players had bogey fives on the 11th, allowing Wyllie to lead once more.
This lead was extended at the par-three 12th after Spargo found trouble off the tee. Both players found the rough off the13th tee, with Wyllie forced to play a second ball while Spargo was able to take a penalty drop as his ball was lost in a penalty area: Wyllie one up after 13.
Spargo then squared the match with a win on the 14th, meaning all to play for with four holes to go. A superb, fairway-splitting drive at the 15th set up an easy par for Spargo and, with Wyllie unable to respond, he took the lead for the first time at a crucial stage of the match.
Wyllie hit back straight away at the tough 16th hole so, as the players entered the final stretch, the match was level. With the wind gusting across the 17th hole, left to right, it became a very testing tee shot.
Both players cut their drives and, with the strong wind, both shots went right of the fairway. Wyllie found his but Spargo was not so lucky and his ball could not be found. The end result was that Wyllie was one up playing the 18th.
Both players hit excellent drives, finding the fairway. Wyllie then played a good approach, just missing the 18th green on the left.
Spargo also hit a good shot, just missing the green to the right. It was Wyllie to play first and he hit an excellent chip to set up a match-winning par.
