First North County triumph for Fotheringham
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BRYAN Fotheringham, North District champion for the past two years, added the Inverness County Championship Cup to his impressive collection for the first time after his triumph at Kingussie Golf Club.
Having previously won the Badenoch Open at Kingussie in the past two years, Fotheringham is no stranger to success at the course, although surprisingly the win was his first North County triumph
Despite his three previous wins in the District Championship and the North’s flagship David Blair 72 hole event, because of his appearances in Scottish national golf events that brought him a national cap in the mid-90s, Fotheringham was always deprived from entering the Moray County Championship when a member of Forres Golf Club because of event clashing dates.
Fotheringham, now a member at Inverness Golf Club, renewed his association with Kingussie by opening with a four over par 71, taking a double bogey at the closing hole.
But his second round one under par 66, which featured one birdie at the third, a bogey on the following hole for an outward count of 34, Fotheringham followed by a one under inward card of 32 to sweep to the top of the leader board on gross 137, leaving local teenager Jordan Shaw with the runners-up medal.
Shaw, who took a fourth place in the North of Scotland’s Boy’s Championship last month, was the first round leader with a one under par 66 before slipping back to a second round 72 for 138, but staying ahead of Graeme Daun (Inverness), who had cards of 71 and 68.
Meanwhile, the Nairn County Championship went to a four hole play-off at Nairn Dunbar between defending champion William Barron and Tom Dingwall with the latter emerging with the cup for the first time, despite a nervy three putt on the final play-off green.
A comeback score in the second round of three under par 69, five better than his first effort, by Barron brought him level with Dingwall’s tally of 143.
At the first extra hole of the play-off 19-year-old Dingwall holed a 40-foot putt for birdie three to go two ahead after Barron missed the green with his approach. The next two holes were halved in par figures and still two shots ahead on the final par five hole, Dingwall’s three putt bogey six for 16 left him with the title against Barron’s par five.
The host club then doubled up when six handicapper Brian Taylor provided Nairn Dunbar with the handicap winner after two nett scores of 71 and 70.
The Moray Championship was played the previous weekend at Grantown-on-Spey where local member John Campbell won at the third extra hole of a play-off against ex-District champion Neil MacWilliam (Elgin). They had tied on a score of 135.
Further north, Scottish Youth champion Lyle McAlpine (Invergordon) retained the Ross-shire Championship after equalling the Alness course record of 62 in his first round and adding a second round level par 67 for 129 to win by eight shots from local member Ross Jack (69/68). Fortrose and Rosemarkie’s Andrew Brown was third on 138 (66/72)
There was also a play-off to separate the leading 36-hole scores at Royal Dornoch in the Sutherland Championship. After finishing runner-up three times before, local Kevin Matheson (73/75) got an easy run in the three hole play-off to beat his clubmate Brian Urquhart (75/73) after he went out of bounds with his first drive then double bogeyed the par three second hole.
With Matheson getting a birdie on the first hole and a four on the second, the 18th was just a procession down the fairway to be crowned champion for the first time.
