Prizewinning parade at Nairn (left to right): New champion Cara Gruber, Jan Corbett (Northern Counties captain), Sally Rowan (handicap championship winner), Eileen Manson (with new Mairi Orr Shield as leading qualifier), Image by courtesy of Robin Wilson. You can enlarge by clicking on it.

Cara Gruber wins Northern Counties

title No 3 with improving form

Royal Dornoch's Cara Gruber simply got better and better over the three days of the Northern Counties women's golf championship and she finished on a high note by winning the title for a third time at Nairn Golf Club.
Cara, the fifth best qualifier for the match-play stages, was three down at one stage in her first-round tie, but in today's matches she had put all that behind her. In the semi-finals, Cara beat the top seed, Eileen Manson (Thurso) by 4 and 3 before she beat former champion Jenny Milne (Elgin) by 6 and 5 in the final.
One-handicapper Cara went two up in the early stages of the final and when Jenny was bunkered at the sixth and ninth, Gruber led by four holes at the turn.
Milne won only one hole - the 10th - before Gruber won the next three to finish the match on the 13th green.
Sally Rowan (Inverness), who plays off 21 and whose mother Sylvia won the same title in 2001, won the handicap championship. She beat Sheila Duncan (Royal Doroch), playing off 19, by 4 and 3 in the final.
Today's results:
Semi-finals - C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) bt E Manson (Thurso) 4 and 3, J Milne (Elgin) bt A Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) at the 22nd.
Final - Gruber bt Milne 6 and 5.
Handicap championship
Semi-finals - S Rowan (Inverness) (21) bt A Burnett (Royal Dornoch) (21) 5 and 4, S Duncan (Royal Dornoch) (19) bt D McBride (Royal Dornoch) (13) 4 and 3.
Final - Rowan bt Duncan 4 and 3.