Spectacular round by Bain in Ronnie Campbell Open
Saturday saw Reay hosting the Ronnie Campbell Open which involved teams of four playing to the Stableford format, with all players’ scores counting towards the team tally.
First place was taken by Owen Bain, Bruce Mackay, John O’Brien and Cammie Ross. A spectacular round by Bain that included birdies at the first, third, 12th and 13th, and topped off by a rare eagle at the 14th, gave his side an excellent score of 42 points.
A birdie at the 16th helped Ross to a score of 33, and steady rounds from Mackay and O’Brien saw them contribute 33 and 32 points respectively. This gave a team total of 140, which was good enough to secure the silverware by a margin of five points.
Two teams finished on 135 points, with James Swan, Ross Williamson, Lewis Swan and Ian Ross taking second place on countback.
A brace of birdies from Swan at the fourth and 16th, and Williamson at the 13th and 16th, helped the team secure the runners-up spot.
Four Thurso players – Steve Osborne, Ian Macphee, Ian Macdonald and Steve Spargo – took third place after they also finished on 135. They were helped to their team tally by birdies from Macphee and Spargo at the sixth, and Macdonald at the 17th.
Sarah Meiklejohn, with a score of 39 which included birdies at the fifth and 15th, and Heather Campbell, who also fired an impressive 39 points, helped their side to take fourth place. Solid rounds from Pauline Craig and Rosalind McQuaker backed them up to give a team tally of 133.
Other notable individual scores came from Simon Harper, who birdied the sixth and 15th on his way to 42 points, and Stephen Fidler who fired an excellent round for 41 points.
The sum of £1350 was raised by the event for local cancer charities, with £1000 going to the Macmillan ward in Wick and £350 to the North Highland Cancer Information and Support Centre in Thurso.
On routine club business, five pars helped Alan Buchanan win the latest round of the North Point Distillery Senior Stableford competition in windy conditions. A birdie at the fifth helped Ian Ross to second place on 33, while Sandy Chisholm birdied the sixth on his way to 28 points and third place.
In the latest Winter League Stableford action, a birdie at the final hole helped Jack Johnstone to a winning score of 41 points. James Meiklejohn took second on 39, with four players – Stuart Greig, Ronald Matheson, Charles Fryett and Jacqui Greig – sharing third place on 34 points.
This Saturday will see the ladies and gents competing in their respective November medals, with the next round of the Winter League Stableford scheduled for Sunday.
