Dunbar enjoys rare scratch victory

Not for the first time this season, the weather struck to wipe out last Sunday’s North Golf Alliance fixture at Tarbat and hold off for another week the revival of Tain’s Munro Ferries, who is trying to retain the Scratch Quaich awarded for the season’s best scratch aggregate scores.

The fixture has been re-arranged for this weekend with the same starting times in operation and it follows the February 12th fixture at Reay Golf Club where there was a surprise result — Thurso’s Dougie Thorburn’s run of three scratch wins ended by his Thurso club mate David Dunbar over their neighbouring golf course.

The Reay entry of 47was headed in all sections by Caithness members, Dunbar enjoying a rare scratch win and two first-time winners breaking through in the handicap sections. Five handicapper Dunbar had topped the Class 1 Category section at Brora last November, then saw off a strong scratch challenge at Reay with his two over par card winning card of 71.

On familiar ground, Dunbar made a reasonable start to his round, with three fours and then a second bogey at the long par five hole, before pulling back one shot with a birdie two at the next hole. A second birdie two at the par three 7th hole was wasted with an awful triple bogey six at the final outward half par three to leave his card at three over par 37. His third birdie of the day at the par five 14th hole helped him to an excellent inward half of 34.

The profile of Dunbar’s scratch win can be judged against the two players who came closest to him, 73s from the Quaich holder, Ferries, and a third plus one handicapper in the field, Wick’s Ronnie Taylor.

Taylor, for a second time this season, was edged into third place as Ferries made his second positive move to retain his trophy after matching the winner’s inward 34 to beat Taylor on the better inward half count back for second place.

Next with a 74 was the Alliance Secretary, Tony Gill of Brora, whose putter let him down on the inward half. After a first nine of 35, which included a three putt on the opening green for bogey, he then missed an easy birdie chance on the inward par five hole and followed it up with three putts on both of the next two greens to raise his inward count to 39.

Plus one golfer Thorburn had his worst return of the year, a 75, the same score as the only other previous scratch winner on the course, club mate Bryan Ronald.

There was a positive return to the Alliance circuit by Reay’s Don Mackay who was also on the 75 mark.

A fourth gross card of 75 (38/37) from Thurso’s Wayne Mowat, reduced to nett 69 from his six handicap, was enough to win the Category One section. With the same nett score as Gill the cards were brought out for the split. Mowat’s big burden of eight blows at the second hole was a downer on the outward half but his inward nine holes were two better than Gill’s whose costly putting errors knocked him down to second place.

Raymond Lockie (Tain) was woeful at the par three holes on the outward card, with triple bogey scores of six at two of them but a final gross 79, nett 70, was a third place reward just ahead of Reay’s long serving member Fred Groves.

Into the aggregate lead for the handicap MacKintosh Salver has arrived Durness’s Francis Keith. He has already one Category 2 win to his belt and two second places and with another sub nett score at Reay for third place his best four aggregate is now 280. Keith’s nett 67 was four behind the Category 2 winner, local David Gray, nett 64 off 12, Gray breaking 40 on both halves (37&39) for a gross 76.

After Tarbat this weekend there remains just two more outings – next weekend, Sunday March 4th, at Invergordon and then to Royal Dornoch’s championship course on Sunday, March 18, for the final fixture and presentation of trophies.

Reay Results: Scratch – 71 D Dunbar (Thurso) 73 M Ferries (Tain), R W Taylor (Wick). 74 A J Gill (Brora). 75 D Thorburn (Thurso), D A Mackay (Reay), B Ronald (Thurso), W Mowat (Thurso). 76 D Gray (Reay).

Handicap – Cat 1 (scr-9) – W Mowat (Thurso) (6), A J Gill (Brora) 5) 69. R S Lockie (Tain) (9) 70. F Groves (Reay) (7) 71. Cat 2 – (10-28) D Gray (Reay) (12) 64. A Mackay (Reay) (14) 65. F R M Keith (Durness) (12) 67. E Munro (Reay) (20) 70.