On Saturday players from near and far gathered at Reay Golf Club to play in the JF Nuclear Safari Open. In one of the most unique events in the golfing calendar, players compete in teams of four over 36 holes, with the three best nett scores from the morning and afternoon rounds contributing towards the team total.
A steady drizzle made conditions tricky in during the first round, but the skies cleared for the second round which was played in glorious sunshine.
Defending champions the ‘3-Jab Monkeys’ comprising recently crowned club champion Lee Parnell, Steve Efemey, Murray McGlasson and Richard McDonald were among the early starters and they shot to the top of the leaderboard in Round One courtesy of a superb nett 67 from Efemey, backed up by steady rounds of nett 70 from Parnell and McGlasson, to give them a team total of 207.
Second place was shared by the two teams, ‘Mumpy’s Mates’ comprising David Mackay, Donald Mowat, John O’Brien and Cammie Ross, and the ‘Maxi’s Maestros’ combination of Grant Maxwell, Lee Malcolm, Leslie Malcolm and John Nicolson, who were both handily placed only 3 strokes behind on 210. The ‘Sumo Sumo’ team of Ross Munro, Brent Munro, Gavin Sutherland and Evan Sutherland were also in contention a shot further back on 211.
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| Safari Winners - 3-Jab monkeys |
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| Runners-up - Sumo Sumo |
Round Two saw more of the same from the ‘3-Jab Monkeys’ and after recording a second successive team score of 207, they set a formidable target of 414 for the rest of the field to chase. After the challenges of ‘Mumpy’s Mates’ and ‘Maxi’s Maestros’ faded in afternoon sun, it soon became apparent that only the players of ‘Sumo Sumo’ could prevent the ‘3 Jab Monkeys’ from retaining their trophy. After Gavin Sutherland posted a blistering nett 66, the lowest score of the day, it looked like an upset might be on the cards, but his team-mates were unable to reach the same heights, and the ‘3-Jab Monkeys’ retained their title by only 3 strokes from their rivals. ‘Mumpy’s Mates’ took third place on 429 with ‘Maxi’s Maestros’ fourth on 431.
Gavin Sutherland had the consolation of topping the individual standings on a tremendous tally of 134, with Efemey second on 135, and Leslie Malcolm third on 136.
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| 3rd Place - Mumpy's Mates |
Prizes for nearest the pin were bagged by Parnell, Struan Mackie, Colin Paterson, and Jock Eunson whose second round effort at the 18th was the talk of the clubhouse after his drilled 5-iron finished inches from the hole.
