Summer League building to an exciting climax at Thurso Golf Club
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As the summer season at Thurso Golf Club enters its final month, the A&A Mackay Summer League is building to an exciting climax, with several players in with a chance of taking the title.
The two latest instalments of the competition, rounds 18 and 19, were played last Thursday and Sunday.
In round 18 the scoring was remarkably good, despite the greens being somewhat difficult, due to essential maintenance being carried out by the greens staff.
All 18 greens have been reseeded. This was done with the very generous help of Royal Dornoch Golf Club, who had allowed Thurso to borrow their equipment.
Scott Mackay managed to break the magic 40-shot barrier for the front nine, resulting in 21 points. This was followed by 17 points on the back nine to give him fourth place with 38 points.
Ross Sutherland took third place, his 39 points consisting of two halves of 19 and 20 points.
Runner-up was Jordan Bain, also with 39 points, pipping Sutherland by virtue of a superb 22-point back nine.
The winner of round 18 was Jim Telfer with a tremendous effort of 40 points.
Telfer, who is a volunteer member of the greens staff and is responsible for cutting the holes, put his local knowledge to great use during his round.
His winning round started in very steady fashion over the first five holes. He then shifted up a gear and no fewer than five nett birdies in a row followed.
After a slight blip at the 11th hole he responded well with a two at the long par-three 12th hole, yielding four points. Steady play over the last six holes gave 19 points for the homeward nine and a winning score of 40 points.
Summer League round 18 results: 1 Jim Telfer, 40 points; 2 Jordan Bain, 39; 3 Ross Sutherland, 39; 4 Scott Mackay, 38.
Summer League round 19 was played on Sunday. Unusually there was very little wind, which made playing conditions a little easier.
Several players took advantage of the benign conditions with almost half the field scoring par or better.
Jordan Youngson took fourth place with 39 points, including a birdie at the last hole.
Andrew Main, who will captain Thurso’s “B” team at the upcoming Ulbster Cup in Wick, hit form with his best round of the season so far, his four-over-par 73 yielding 40 points.
In a super-steady round, Main birdied the sixth and 14th holes.
William Durrand, who won the Summer League three seasons ago, made a late charge up the leader board with 42 points.
Covering the first nine holes in only two over par gave Durrand an excellent 24 points. He added a further 18 points on the back nine to beat his handicap by six strokes.
The Reid family have been prominent this year with several appearances in and around the winners’ circle. It was Kyle Reid’s turn this time with an amazing 44 points, identical halves of 22 points giving him his total and a hefty three-stroke handicap cut.
Summer League round 19 results: 1 Kyle Reid, 44 points; 2 William Durrand, 42; 3 Andrew Main, 40; 4 Jordan Youngson, 39
After the latest two rounds of the Summer League things are becoming tight at the top of the leader board. Long-time leader Chris Sutherland has been caught by Ryan Forbes, both on 267 points. Sutherland still holds the upper hand, though, on countback.
Alan Swanson and James Durrand are next on 264 points. With the penultimate round being played on Thursday, and the final round on Saturday, it’s going to be a nail-biting finish with several players in with a chance of the top spot.
A full leader board can be found on Thurso Golf Club’s Facebook page and on www.masterscoreboard.co.uk
August Medal
In between the two Summer League rounds, the August Medal was played on Saturday.
A stiff northerly wind swept the course all day long, resulting in difficult, cool conditions for the assembled field of 62.
Given the conditions and the ongoing maintenance to the greens, the winning score was expected to be one or two under par. This expectation turned out to be well off the mark to say the least.
Ross Williamson was the early clubhouse leader with a two-under-par 93 (26) 67.
Williamson birdied both the eighth and 17th holes in his excellent round.
Williamson’s lead did not last long, however, and was bettered by Neil Rigg’s 78 (13) 65. Rigg got to the halfway stage in only 38 shots and only a double bogey at the last prevented him from matching that score on the homeward nine.
In second place was Reiss Reid, with 90 (25) 65. Reid has been showing glimpses of form recently and, despite starting both nines with a double bogey six, played some steady golf to earn himself a well-deserved handicap cut from 25 to 23.
The winner of the medal was Chris Williamson, his 76 (14) 62 placing him comfortably ahead of the field.
Williamson’s only stumble on the front nine was a six at the par-four sixth hole. However, a birdie at the eighth repaired some of the damage and resulted in a front nine of 39.
The 10th, 11th and 12th holes at Thurso have been the ruin of many a promising score, with trouble lying in wait for the errant shot. Williamson had no such problems as he parred all three holes to keep the momentum going.
A birdie at the 13th further enhanced his score. At this stage a sub-60 round was a definite possibility but a relatively poor finish over the homeward stretch, including a lost ball at the 17th hole, meant Williamson had to settle for a seven-under-par 62 – still a fantastic score.
August Medal results: 1 Chris Williamson, 76 (14) 62; 2 Reiss Reid, 90 (25) 65; 3 Neil Rigg, 78 (13) 65; 4 Ross Williamson, 93 (26) 67.
This weekend’s fixtures are the last round of the Summer League on Saturday followed by the Ronnie Williamson Cup on Sunday.
