Mens Tournaments - Season 2008-2009

Gala Open sponsored by We Frame It - 27 July 08
Dreaves & Parnell prove practice make perfect

If ever a case was to be made for practice paying off, it was made by Keith Dreaves, winner of the Gala Trophy on Sunday.

Dreaves has played 32 competitive rounds at Thurso since the beginning of April, more than anyone else in the club. Playing later in the day, Dreaves opened with a birdie and scarcely put a foot wrong as he scored 42 for each nine on the way to a tremendous nett 61 to lead the field by two shots and win the higher handicap category.

Stewart Gunn has been in good form recently and this continued as he took second place in the category behind Dreaves with a nett 63, having also taken 42 shots for both nines.

Young Lewis Bain enjoyed his first taste of success in open competitions with a fine nett 64 for third place, one ahead of local football legend Kevin Morris who survived a nine at the sixth hole on his way to a nett 65, a total shared by Jack McCracken who lost out on count back.

Murray McGlasson (Reay), no stranger to the Thurso course, had a superb level par inward nine for a nett 63 to win the lower handicap category after beating Thurso native Gordon Black, now playing out of Dalmahoy, on count back.

Black was out in level par and proceeded to birdie the tenth, eleventh and thirteenth holes before faltering at the final three holes to record a gross 70 equalling the day's best round.

Harvey Cowe had an even better front nine of two under par 33 that contained birdies at the fifth, seventh and eighth holes but double bogeys at the tenth and fifteenth holes proved costly as he slipped to a nett 64 and third place in the category beating Donald Sutherland by a shot. Sutherland would have enjoyed his run of four threes from the twelfth to fifteenth holes.

Known as the Melvich Magician in his footballing days, John O'Brien produced a nett 70 on Sunday made up of two halves of 35 and containing three birdies. However, it was a little bit of magic by his Reay club mate Lee Parnell that was to relegate O'Brien to runner up spot in the scratch section.

Two over par after twelve holes, Parnell stayed that way until the eighteenth when a birdie three saw him through on count back and not only gave him two scratch wins over the weekend but also the trophy for the best nett aggregate over the two rounds with 131.

End-of-Document