Skaw golfers whip gale
THE 33rd Whalsay 36 Hole Open took place recently. The day started calm with an abundance of midges causing havoc but by mid morning they had disappeared and the cream was stowed away as a full north-westerly gale began to batter the players.
Among the early starters Steven Anderson and Edward Jamieson made the best of the calm
conditions and retuned net 74s. This was soon beaten when Robbie Irvine posted an excellent
net 70. Robbie also knew his 83 gross wouldn’t be far from the best scratch score as the winds were now gusting gale force for the golfers still out for their first round.
Stuart Anderson with a gross 79 was the leading scratch score after round one with Tom Simpson on 81 and Ross Chisholm on 82. A cluster of players was placed between gross 83 to 90 and the conditions got worse for the second round as the wind was now gusting over 40 knots, but most of the competitors went out for more punishment.
Whalsay veteran Magnie J. Jamieson took sixth handicap with a net 160 total. Fifth was Jimmy
Sales with two steady rounds for a total of 159. Ian Leiper took fourth on 158 and Steven Anderson
third with 156. In second place was young Bobby Hutchison who was only one of four players to
break gross 90 in the second round for a 152 net total, just one shot behind winner Robbie Irvine
whose first round net 70 was brilliant in the conditions. A net 81 for his second round was just enough to win him the J. L. Irvine Handicap Cup on net 151.
The scratch for the Antares Trophy was a topsy turvey affair with big swings meaning three or four different players led at various times. Alan Harcus must have thought he’d blown it when he took an eight at the 16th but a fantastic five, five finish gave Alan a well deserved victory and his first 36 hole Whalsay Open with a total of 168.
In second place on 171 was Ross Chisholm who played well to break 90 in both rounds – a great effort by the big Ness man. Tom Simpson was playing with Alan and leading him with two holes to go but a nine, seven finish left him three shots adrift on 171, which gave him third place.
First round leader Stuart Anderson also ended up on 171, a costly triple bogey seven at the 18th putting him in fourth spot. Colin Bain was fifth on 174 and sixth was Ian Scott on 176.
A spokesman for Whalsay Golf Club said he would like to thank Alister and the Clydesdale Bank for their generous sponsor and also some sterling work in the beer tent. Thanks must also go to the Shetland Golf Club members for continuing to come and support the Whalsay Open especially in the testing conditions, reflected in the average scoring of 94 for the first round and 100 for the second.
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Boxwell swings for victory
LAST Saturday at Dale saw another of the opens take place with a good turnout of 63 players, including several visitors, playing in the Shetland Freezer Foods Open.
A warm bright day saw some players presenting pasty white legs that hadn’t seen sunlight in many a year by the looks of it, but as usual with the Shetland weather it was cold and windy by the end of play.
The best score returned on the day came from Michael Boxwell with a score of 70, net 64, which was good enough to take first place, the Shetland Freezer Foods Cup and a large hamper from Freezer Foods. In second place was Marc Henry with a good score of 79, net 66. Geo Sim was in third place on a score of 78, net 67. Paul Foster took fourth place on 81, net 68, by virtue of a better back nine from Steve Lamb 80, also net 68.
There was no scratch trophy up for grabs but prizes went to the top three scratch scores. Boxwell’s 70 was the lowest scratch score but as he won the handicap trophy Jordan Leask took first prize with his score of 73. Tom Simpson also shot a 73 but had a poorer back nine and settled for second while Ross Chisholm was in third place on 75.
Boxwell also won a prize for nearest the pin on the second. David Nicol was nearest the pin in two on the eighth and Alan Harcus was nearest the pin on the 14th and also had the longest drive on the eighteenth.
The previous weekend the July monthly medal was won by Jordan Leask on another blustery day with a fine score of 73, net 68. This was three shots clear of Maurice Clark in second place with a score of 80, net 71. Clark took second as a result of having a better back nine from third placed Ian Scott and fourth placed Chris Conboy. Gil Leask won the July seniors medal, also with an excellent score of net 68. On Wednesday, the Dewars Cup was played in a very different format with players only able to select two clubs and a putter to play with. Ross Chisholm was the player who adapted best to this, winning with a fine score of 73, net 66. In second place was Ian Scott 77, net 69, and in third place was Rab Duffin, also on net 69.
