Campbell outstrips field at Raceview

This did not upset R Campbell’s rhythm as he returned a score of six up on par which was two clear of the rest of the field.

He certainly set the opening nine on fire, which he covered in one over gross to be five up on par.

The second nine was more down to earth where he managed to add only one more digit to that opening nine which saw him end up at six up over the 18 holes.

Second place was won by Thompson Eccles (13) with a score of four up but he had to depend on a very solid second nine to pip three other four-up totals.

A front nine score of five pars plus three bogeys and a double bogey on the fifth left him only one up going into the back nine.

Thompson had a much better journey here as he scored five pars plus four single bogeys but taking his handicap into the equation, he was three up on the par.

Gary Black took the category one prize with a score of two up on par, having played the course in two over 70 shots.

Four-handicapper Black was two up on par after nine and when he stepped onto the 16th tee he was still two up and a finish of three pars retained that score.

Category two was won by 10-handicapper Henry Eagleson with a final score of four up on par. Commencing his round with four level par scores, Henry then went one up at the fifth and birdies on the eighth and ninth put them three up going into the inward nine.

By the time he had reached the 15th tee he was actually five up but he dropped a couple on the 15th and 17th but a birdie on the final hole was vital as it returned him to four up on par and a category winner.

Sixteen-handicapper Gerard McCann also managed an end product of four up on par to win category three and having been four up after the front nine which he played in four over gross, he failed to add anything on the back nine, having been even par.

Despite this, he had done enough and that opening nine really set him up, although his back nine score let him down for the second overall prize.

The same could be said of the category four winner Quinton McKee (23) as he lost out by a one-up total on the second nine for the second overall prize.

Having been two up on par after the opening nine he then stood four up after 12 and the only hole he forfeited to par on the closing nine was the 15th where, despite having had two shots on handicap, he went back to three under.

A solid par on the last hole retrieved that deficit and he ended two up on par on each nine for an overall total of four up.

The best gross score came from Adam Brady (4) who was two up on par having been two over gross on the outward nine.

He then had a topsy-turvy second nine of two pars, two bogeys, a double bogey plus birdies on the 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th, with those last two being most rewarding.

WEDNESDAY OPEN

Having won the McQuillan Cup on the previous Saturday, John Robinson’s good form continued into the open stableford on the following Wednesday.

Despite being cut on handicap from four to three, he still managed to play to his new handicap and he returned 36 points to pip Arron Lemon on the back nine countback.

A front nine of six pars, a dropped shot on the second and sixth plus a birdie two on the seventh gave him 18 points out. The back nine resulted in five pars, a dropped shot on the 14th, 16th and 18th was somewhat boosted with a birdie three on the 15th where he had a shot on handicap which was wroth four points, resulting in equal nines of 18 points.

Lemon, off a 10-handicap, had double bogeys on the second and fifth but the other seven holes were pars giving him 19 points on the outward nine.

The inward nine was not so good as he had only four pars, plus four bogeys and another double concession on the 11th resulted in 17 for an overall total of 36.

FIXTURES

Wednesday, June 9 - Choice Cuts; Saturday, June 12 - Ritchie Clarion Audio; Sunday, June 13 - Specsavers; Wednesday, June 16 - Castle Tower School (13 hole scramble); Saturday, June 19 - John Brown’s Captain’s Day.

LADIES

Clandeboye produced the performance of the day as Ballymena Golf Club hosted the first round of the prestigious Ladies Junior Cup knockout competition, sponsored by AA Insurance.

The ladies from County Down whitewashed Royal Portrush 5-0 on a day when ten teams enjoyed the splendid sunshine at the Raceview course.

Other winners on the day and moving forward to round two were Royal Co. Down, Ballyclare, Malone and Spa.

Full results were: Royal Co Down 3 Moyola 2; Ballyclare 3 Kirkistown 2; Malone 4 Portstewart 1; Clandeboye 5 Royal Portrush 0, Spa 3 North West 2.