Sunday 10 July 2011

Benn Ratha Trophy


With many of Reay’s members either on Wilson Cup duty or enjoying the Scottish Open golf at Castle Stuart at the weekend, only a small field of golfers gathered on Saturday to contest the Benn Ratha trophy. Those who did compete were rewarded with clear skies and a pleasant breeze, in contrast to their more illustrious professional counterparts who were braving the elements in Inverness.
Former captain Andy Mackay has not enjoyed the best of seasons to date, but that changed on Saturday after a splendid nett 65 gave him first place. Mackay’s round did not get off to the best of starts, and after walking off the second green with a triple bogey 7 he could have been forgiven for thinking it might not be his day. However, a run of pars from the 5th helped Mackay repair some of the damage and he reached the turn in 38. Mackay continued his rich vein of form on the back 9 to come home in an impressive 37, which included an excellent birdie 3 at the dangerous 17th hole.
Beaten in to second place by a single shot was young James Hawes. Hawes also got off to an indifferent start and the 2nd hole claimed another victim as he also walked off the green with an ugly 7. He steadied the ship to reach the turn in 43, but his round come to life on the back nine which he covered in an excellent 38 shots.
In third place on countback was Stuart Grieg, who also enjoyed a much-needed return to form. In contrast to Mackay and Hawes, Grieg’s round got off to a flying start and he covered the front 9 in an excellent 38. A run of 3 bogeys from the 10th took the shine off things, but Grieg redoubled his efforts and made it home in a very respectable 39.  

No comments:

Post a Comment