17/06/10
Carrbridge Golf Club recorded an excellent 66 to secure victory in the third Regional Final of the 2010 Belhaven Best Captains & Secretaries Championship at Nairn Dunbar today (Thursday 17 June).
The Carrbridge partnership of Barney Mackie (Captain) and William Baird (Secretary) posted a six under par score of 66 to win the North region qualifier on the better inward half from runners-up Turriff’s Paul Gallacher & Alistair Davidson.
On a glorious day at Nairn Dunbar the Nairn GC pairing of Yvonne Forgan and Peter Saggers on 67 took third place and the final prize position. The five remaining Clubs to qualify for the Grand Final were Aberfeldy GC, McDonald GC and Spey Bay GC who all scored a superb 68, and Aboyne GC and Fort Augustus GC who both finished with a fine three under par 69.
Winning partnership Mackie & Baird who have a handicap of six and nine respectively began their round on the 5th hole in the ‘shot-gun start’ format and certainly started with a bang with a birdie 3 at their opening hole. The Carrbridge pair finished as they started with a birdie 3 to close their round and secure victory.
Mackie’s four nett three at the last that turned out to be the winning birdie was not a straightforward one, he commented,
“I hit it into the rough off the tee and still had a long way to go, I managed to get a 3 wood up near the green, my pitch finished up about 10 feet from the hole so it was a great feeling to see the putt drop in for a birdie to finish off our round”
Secretary William Baird praised his playing partner and his dedication to practicing in preparation for today,
“Barney puts in hours and hours of practice and it really showed out there. He’s the last car out the car park most nights at the club and it was a pleasure to play with him today”
31 teams competed in today’s Regional Final, all were extremely complimentary on the Nairn Dunbar, the exceptional scoring made even better given the course’s renowned tight fairways.
The mixed event for Club Captains and Secretaries is now in its fifth season and has quickly become one of the most popular events amongst SGU affiliated clubs. The fourth and final Regional Final will take place at West Linton on Tuesday 13th July with the Grand Final taking place at Murrayshall on Tuesday 21 September.
For today’s scores please click here.