Thurso star tops leader board
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THURSO and Wick’s two-plus-one handicap golfers, Dougie Thorburn and Ronnie Taylor respectively, took advantage of an excellent Brora links and perfect weather to head a field of more than 70 in the North Golf Alliance fixture at the Sutherland venue last Sunday.
It was by far the season’s best entry and the 72 members who turned up took advantage of the conditions to return a plethora of excellent scores.
Thorburn, runner-up in the Scratch Quaich competition for aggregate scores last season, got to the top of the leader board on a scratch countback from Taylor, a previous six-time winner of the trophy.
The Thurso star recorded a birdie two at the ninth hole for his outward 36 and then a repeat count over the next nine holes for 72.
Taylor, ahead by one shot after nine holes, lost first place with his scrappy inward count of 37 that began bogey, followed by double bogey, at holes 10 and 11.
Closing up behind the first and second pair came two more Thurso members, Alan Swanson and David Dunbar, both with 73s from halves of 36 and 37 and, as the Caithness travellers excelled in the course and overhead conditions, they dominated the scoring – Thurso’s Jim Sangster with 74 (36
Dunbar headed the class-one handicap returns with nett 68, and sharing his score was the Thurso greenkeeper, Fraser Sparling, who had to settle for second place on the inward card playoff.
With a nett par matching 69, Tain’s Raymond Lockie followed up his section-winning score at the previous Thurso fixture with a fourth place at Brora, dropping from third place after losing his card playoff because of a closing triple bogey six to local member Jimmy Murray.
Durness members’ domination of the class-two handicap section after two fixtures came to an end at Brora.
Home member Mike Howells, from his handicap of 15, grossed 85 with nothing worse than a six on his card and the subsequent nett 70 won by two strokes from Thurso captain Ali Simpson who, in turn, was one place in front of the sole Ross-shire golfer to figure.
Invergordon’s David Duncan (12) had a nett 73 for third place before David Ross (Durness) managed a fourth with nett 74, another card playoff with Reay’s Pete McCartney.
With a break at the weekend for the Remembrance Sunday services, the next fixture returns to Caithness and will be played at Wick Golf Club on November 20.
Results – Scratch: 72 D. Thorburn (Thurso) 36
Handicap class one: D. Dunbar (Thurso) (5) 68; F. Sparling (Thurso) (8) 68; J. Murray (Brora) (9) 69; R. Lockie (Tain) (9) 69; A. Swanson (Thurso) (2) 71.
Handicap class two: M. Howells (Brora) (15) 70; A. Simpson (Thurso) (19) 72; D. Duncan (Invergordon) (12) 73; D. Ross (Durness) (14) 74; P. McCartney (Reay) (15) 74.
