Brora Clynelish Week

Susan Smith wins a sackful of trophies  

 left to right – Marjorie Dixon (Brora), Sheila Robertson (Golspie)  Anne Clarke (Lady Captain), Marie- Louise Pind (Denmark), Sally Grieve (Bridge of Allan). Front  Susan Smith and Julia Brook (Walton Heath).

By ROBIN WILSON

The first of the seven-day Clynelish Distillery sponsored golf at Brora got under waywith the Ladies Open where past club president Susan Smith stole the show winning a sackful of trophies.

Conditions were tough on the James Braid Links players having to cope with a strong south west wind on the inward holes resulting in only one golfer returning a card under 80. It came from annual visitor and four handicapper Julia Brook from the club where the course architect spent his final years, Walton Heath.  Brook opened with three bogies over the first four holes then bogied the 7^th hole but she halted the slide with birdie at the par five eighth hole for an outward 39.  The count was matched against the wind on the back nine to return a 78 and win the Nicol Trophy from Marie-Louise Pind from the Sollerod Golf Club, Denmark. 

Pind after being only one over par (37) through the first nine holes dropped all her shots on the inward half to finish in second place with 81. Daisy Kane (West Sussex) 83, last years scratch winner Wick's Deirdre MacAngus 84, and Susan Smith (Brora) 85 completed the top five scratch returns.

However Smith with her handicap of thirteen and nett 72 scooped the Brora Bowl, open to all, and then the two confined trophies, the Brora Salver and the Hunter Trophy the latter as the best score from a Sutherland club member.

Ladies Open Results. 

Scratch – J Brook (Walton Heath) 78. M L Pind (Sollerod) 81. Silver Division; C MacLeod (Wick) (16),  M Dickson (Brora) (20) 74. Bronze Division; S Grieve  (Bridge of Allan) (26) 73.  C Bidwell (Dunkeld) (21) 77.  Hunter Trophy/ Brora Salver/ Brora Bowl S Smith (Brora) (13) 72.

The popular visitor week of golf continued on Sunday with the Cairngorm Solar Open Mixed Foursomes competition where again the weather played its part and was reflected in the scores returned.

No nett cards under par were returned but their were two good mid seventies scratch scores of which a gross 75 gave possession of the Brora Salver to the previous day's Ladies event runner-up, Marie-Louise Pind (Denmark) and her German partner Jorg Paulus. Paulus a recent winner of the English Open Mid Amateur Championship and a serious contender for the four-day Clynelish Open that began on Monday. A 76 for second place came from Nairn Dunbar partnership of Graham Burnett and Northern Counties team member Annabelle Brown.

The Brora/Wick pairing of John Sutherland and Dierdre MacAngus won the R M Street Shield in the low handicap division with a nett of 73 while in the higher handicap group for the first time it was the proven local partnership of Mike MacKintosh and Lynda MmacKay who lifted the A L MacKay Trophy with nett 72.5.    

Results;

 Scratch

 Brora Salver – J Paulus (RDGC) /M L Pind (Sollerod) 75. G Burnet /A Brown (Nairn Dunbar) 76. S Stewart/M Bokas (Brora) 86. Class 1 R M Street Shield: J D Sutherland (Brora)/D MacAngus (Wick) (6) 73. D Brook/J Brook (Walton Heath) (9) 74. M MacLean/K MacLean (Strathpeffer) (13) 75.  Class 2 A L Mackay Trophy: M MacKintosh/ L MacKay (Brora) (15.5) 72.5. D Sutherland/S Ross (Brora) (19) 74. B Sutherland/C Sutherland (Scotscraig) (16.5) 76.5.