Raceview Golf: Craig wins Currie Cup

The clear winner was Craig McMaster who, off a handicap of 13, returned a total of 45 points.

To put this into perspective, the winners of the Betterball competition in the recent Open Week scored only one point more between them, so one can appreciate the magnitude of Craig’s round.

The opening nine was made up of six pars, with dropped shots on the first, fourth and sixth for 21 points on the way out.

The closing nine saw him score another six pars, with dropped shots on the 11th and 15th, but he finished his round with a birdie on the 18th, as he added a further 24 points for the nine holes.

Second place went to Sean McCann (16) with a total of 42, having had equal nines of 21, but he will look back with regret at the final hole of his round, where he failed to score any points.

The front nine contained five pars, three bogeys plus a double bogey on the sixth, while the back nine resulted in five pars, a bogey on the 12th, plus a double bogey on the 11th and a birdie on the par four 15th and after a run of one under from the 13th to the 17th, he paid dearly for that blank on the last.

Michael Smyth won the category one prize with 40 points, 21 of which came on the front nine via four pars, two bogeys and three birdies, which came from the third, seventh and ninth.

The back nine resulted in another four pars, three bogeys and birdies on the 13th and 17th for an additional 19 points.

William Tuff (11) top-scored in category two with 39 points, having had 20 on the first nine and 19 on the way home, which included a non-event on the par three 14th.

Tuff’s outward nine showed six pars plus bogeys on the first, sixth hand eighth, while the inward nine was made up of five pars, bogeys on the 10th, 11th and 16th plus that blank on the 14th.

Category three went to Stephen Ritchie (15) with a grand total of 42 points, having had 23 on the first nine holes.

Having been level par after seven, Stephen then dropped a shot apiece on the eighth and ninth.

Entering the back nine with a par, the next six holes produced four bogeys plus two pars, but the final two holes were bogey, double bogey for 19 points.

Category four was won by James Millar (21) with a total of 38 points, of which the outward nine produced a mere 16 but the inward nine made up that, where he scored 22.

That outward nine contained only one par, six bogeys, a double bogey on the second and a non-score on the sixth. The inward nine contained four pars, three bogeys and the last two holes were double bogeys, yet the nine produced 22 points.

The best gross prize was won by John Robinson (1) who played the course in one under, 67 shots.

His card showed seven pars plus birdies on the fourth and seventh on the front nine, while the back nine resulted in six pars, a bogey on the 16th and 17th but he retrieved one of those bogeys with a birdie on the 18th, which left him one under for the round.

THOMPSON CUP

Played in conjunction with the Currie Cup was the Thompson Cup for seniors and this was won by TG McCann (25) with a total of 40 points, despite non-events at both the ninth and 14th.

On the plus side, he scored five pars and eight bogeys, while the other three holes were double bogeys.

Wilton Simpson (22) lifted the second prize with a total of 39 points and he registered a point on every hole.

A par on the last hole was most rewarding as he pipped Campbell Wade (16) by one point.

Wade scored 20 points on the first nine and once again a non-score appeared on the second hole, whereas the second realised 18 points from two pars, six bogeys plus a double bogey on the 11th.

SUNDAY OPEN

The Sunday Open stableford was won by Gareth McCullough (23) with a total of 44 points, of which 21 came from the first nine where he had six fives, a three, a four and a six.

The second nine was so different, that was until he reached the final hole which was a non-score, but he had three four-pointers in a row from the 11th to the 13th inclusive en route to 23 points for the eight holes.

Second prize was won by Michael McGarry (4) with 43 points and his card was made up of nine pars, six birdies plus three bogeys.

The second nine contained six threes, two fives plus a four on the last.

JUVENILES

The juveniles’ Michelin Trophy was won by Callum Black with 40 points, his third of the season.

Second was Mark Crawford with 39 points, his second prize from three competitions.

LADIES

Jennifer Eagleson was the big winner at Ballymena Golf Club last week when she won the Bill Rainey Cup with a stableford points haul of 34.

But it was a close affair as she just edged out runner-up, Mary Kearney, courtesy of a better back nine, after she also finished with 34 points.