All the news and happenings from the local golf clubs

A 41 point return from Steven Crockett won him Rathmore’s David Magee Cup on Sunday.

The fiteen handicapper produced a very steady 19 points over the opening nine holes but got much better on the inward nine. He opened it with two pars then slipped in a birdie three on the twelfth to get nine points from those three holes. The final six contained just two bogies so the back nine gave up 22 points to Steven’s card to see him take the cup with 41.

Andrew Porter was his closest rival on 40 points off his handicap of four. He had consecutive birdies with a four on the fourth and a three on five but dropped a shot on the par four seventh to be out in one under par and have 21 points logged.

Andrew started back on the birdie trail as he picked up a shot on the long tenth and another on the par four fourteenth. On the downside he was beset by a trio of bogeys from the fifteenth to see his chance of glory slip away with a 19 point back nine tally for 40 points total and second place.

Scratch man Ian Kettyle hit the better of two 39 pointers to take third place. Ian birdied the long fourth on his way out, for 19 points, and the par five tenth together with a three on sixteen on his way back for another 20.

Fourth place was taken by Philip Doherty with the other 39 pointer. The five handicapper birdied the fifth in three but dropped a shot on six and two on seven to have 19 points bagged at the turn. Nine straight pars coming back added 20 points for his 39 total.

Ben Best picked up the Best Gross score for his round of 68. He was out in level par 35 with a birdy three on the fifth balancing a five on seven but bettered that on the back nine by picking up a stroke with a four on the long tenth, a three on sixteen and a closing two on eighteen.

That was a two under back nine and allowed Ben to sign up for his winning 68.

PETER SWEEPS THE BOARD

Sixteen handicapper Peter Bogle swept all before him on Saturday to win Portstewart GC’s sweep by four clear points.

Playing over the fourteen hole layout of the Strand course Peter took 17 points from the opening seven holes, five over par, but it was the back seven that boosted him to the top of the leaderboard.

Peter covered it in a level par 28 shots to pull another 22 points for his card. He birdied both par fives for four points each and had a succession of three pointers with just one hole giving him two points.

That gave him 35 points for the round and left the others floundering.

Martin Hughes was the best of theses with 35 points to his name. The nine handicapper had 20 points bagged at the turn including birdies on the long seventh and the par four eighth.

The birdies dried up over the back seven and Martin collected a brace of one pointers to finish on 35 points with 17 coming from the final seven. Robert Thompson followed just a point back on 34 off his sixteen mark.

A birdie three on eight added in four points and helped Robert to 16 for the first half of the round. He had five three point holes on the back seven and took his overall tally to 34 with 18 back to claim third place.

Wilfred Ridge blanked the sixth to restrict his front seven hole points to 15 but recovered over the final seven to get 18 more on his card for 33 to seal his fourth spot. Angus Gamble matched this total and had the same split, so the tie break was a close run thing and gave Angus the fifth and final prize.

Brian McCafferty and Danny Alexander also scored 33 points each but with 16 back couldn’t get on the prize list.

JOHN FREEMAN MEMORIAL LEAGUE

Saturday past saw the commencement of the John Freeman Memorial Winter League at Bushfoot Golf Club.

This will be run over eight weeks with the best six scores to count for the winners. In week one, in Division One, it was Willie McIlroy who came through with 40 points scored from his handicap of thirteen.

His opening nine was going along quite nicely until a double bogey dropped onto the card. Not disheartened Willie’s birdy three on the ninth made it better, getting him to 19 out.

The closing nine holes were played well by Willie, no birdies but no slip ups either, four over par for 21 points getting him up to 41 for his win.

Richard Lees pulled 40 points from his mark of twelve to take second place. At two on the second helped him along but a blank on eight took the shine off the front nine for him although he still recorded 20 points for it.

As with Willie, Richard played the back nine in four over par, gaining 20 points for it, and finished with 40 points overall.

In Division Two it was Noel Moore, playing off 24, on top with 42 points. Although he got off to a bad start, blanking the first, Noel dropped just four shots over the other eight holes to end the nine with 22 scored.

Twelve and thirteen gave him nothing but a nice birdy three on seventeen was a welcome boost and helped Noel to 20 back for his table topping 42 points.

John Camac took runners up spot in Div Two scoring 41 points. John played to his 25 handicap for the front nine, scoring 18 points, but was well warmed up when he set off on the second nine as dropped just eight shots to par and added in another 23 points for his 41total.

JEFF AND ALAN TAKE

GREENSOMES WIN AT RPGC

The partnership of Jeff Wilson and Alan Millar gelled perfectly as they collected 39 points over the sixteen holes in play at Royal Portrush to win the Saturday Greensomes.

An eagle three on the long second set them up well and, although a bogey was seen at the par four fifth, they knocked in another brace of birdies with a two on six and a four on nine.

All that amounted to 27 points for nine holes and they added the tenth to their list of birdy holes with another four. That was to be the last sub par score as the pair dropped shots on twelve and sixteen but more dramatic was that between those bogies two blank holes appeared, threatening to scupper their chances.

However, 12 points came from the final seven holes to add to the impressive 27 out to get Jeff and Alan to 39 for the day and kept them a point ahead of the rest.

Best of the rest were Brian McMullan and Dr Ian Cameron with 38 points. Their three over par, birdy free front nine saw them turn for home with 22 points aboard.

A few shots were lost early in the final seven, including a double bogey six on the twelfth, but a last gasp three on the par four sixteenth pushed them up the table to 38 points and second place was theirs.

James Carrigy and John White followed on with 37 points for third place. They matched Brian and Ian’s front nine of 22 points with the assistance of a birdie three on the fourth but, with a no score on thirteen, finished with 15 points for the closing seven which left them one adrift in third place.

BAMBER DAY AT ROYAL PORTRUSH

The father and son duo of John and William Bamber took top spot in the Bottle Day at Royal Portrush on Saturday with a score of 37 points .

The foundation of their victory was laid early in the round as they birdied the opening hole in three and the second in four. The par four fourth also fell to another birdie to leave the pair three under par after four.

Unfortunately the fifth became their only blot on the card as no points were earned there at all. However, 21 points had been carded at the turn and the birdies had not dried up as a two was registered on eleven.

A couple of shots were lost to par before the final flourish of the round came with a three on the par four sixteenth to get 16 points from the final seven holes in play and get to the winning 37 points off their handicap of five.

Runners up were just a point back as Paddy O’Donnell and JJ McElderry, also playing off five, pulled 36 points from the course. They dropped just two shots going out and had a birdy three on eight which gave them 20 points for the opening nine holes.

Fifteen gave them a birdie three and sixteen took it back with a bogey five to add 16 into the mix and come out with 36 for second place. Robert Brady and James McKervill took third place with a return of 35 points from their mark of twelve.

Their front nine birdies, a four on the second and three on the fifth helped them along to 20 points for the nine and, although no more birdies were to be seen, 15 points were plucked from the last seven holes getting the duo on to 35 points and third place.

EAMON TAKES RATHMORE’S McCANN CUP

Ten handicapper Eamon Donnelly won the McCann Cup with a tally of 41 points.

The victory did not look likely as Eamon bogeyed the first and eighth, as well as not scoring at all on four and nine, to have just 17 points carded at the turn for home. However, Eamon wasn’t having that, and he settled down to get through the back nine in one under par.

The long tenth was shortened to four shots, the next to two before a couple of bogeys slipped in. His final and decisive hole was eighteen which fell to another birdy two and got Eamon 24 points from the back nine and 41 overall.