All the news and happenings from the local golf clubs

RATHMORE

Joe Hunter used all his vast experience to secure the PG Stevenson trophy and his Christmas dinner at Rathmore GC on Sunday by scoring 42 points from his handicap of thirteen to top the tables.

Joe covered the opening nine in three over par with the help of birdies on the short third and the par four fifth, that gave up 22 points to his card and the good shooting continued into the back nine too. He did not find any more birdies but just four shots were lost to par and 20 points were added to his tally making it the title winning 42.

Simon Carruthers took second place on countback with with 40 points from his mark of five. The third gave him a two and another birdie came his way on the par four fifth to see Simon go two under par.

A no score on six set him back a bit but Simon finished the nine with 19 points bagged. The back nine started well, with an eagle three on ten followed by six pars, but seventeen took an uncharacteristic double bogey six so that meant 21 back for Simon and 40 overall for second place. Thomas Peters was nudged into third place with his 40 pointer.

He opened his account with a birdie three and added to this with his three on the fifth as well. With two shots dropped to par the five handicapper turned for home with 20 points under his belt. His birdy count went to three when Thomas slipped in a putt for his four on the tenth but that was to be his last. Two shots were dropped to par after that and another 20 went to the card.

Len Stevenson pulled 39 points from the course with his round of two under par playing off one. Seven straight pars for the opening nine gave him 19 points and the back nine started in dynamic fashion with an eagle three followed by a birdie two getting Leon to three under gross. Thirteen took a shot back as did the last but between these Leon squeezed another birdy from the par four sixteenth to end the day with a round of 67 and 39 points.

In the gross stakes the honours went to Ian Kettyle for his round of 69. A shot went west with a five on the first but that was the only variation from par on the front nine which put Ian on 36. Ten and eleven fell to birdies before two shots were lost with a six on the thirteenth.

Four pars kept Ian at one over par until eighteen, where his final hole birdie slipped in to see Ian round in 69 shots.

MoreSports.com BUSHFOOT LEAGUE

Martyn Freeman featured in second place a couple of weeks ago and he went one better this time by winning Division One with 43 points from his handicap of six.

He reduced the third and the sixth to three shots each and pulled 21 points from the front nine in doing so. Martyn then added in two twos on the eleventh and fourteenth and those helped to load in another 22 points for his total of 43.

All of these were necessary as he took top spot on countback from another 43 pointer, Garth McCartney. Garth plays off eleven and he helped himself to 22 out with the assistance of a birdie three on the third. He had to wait until he played the seventeenth to get another one but that meant he had 21 to add to the card for his 43 total.

In Division Two it was another 43 pointer that led the way and that came from Richard Sufferin. Even with not scoring at the ninth he had played well enough to register 21 for the front half and kept the pace up on the return leg to get another 22 scored.

The highlight of this was his three on the seventeenth. Ian Hackney was runner up Richard scoring 41 points. He blanked the first and the ninth but between those he dropped just two shots and birdied the par four eighth to nab 23 points!

His more regularly played back nine produced just 18 including a birdy three on twelve.

BUSHFOOT SENIORS OPEN

Home based player Trevor Steele won the recent Bushfoot Seniors Open with 44 points from his 22 handicap.

He birdied the par four third and dropped just four shots to par in his front nine for a return of 26 points, a great base to build on. A few shots went west on the back nine but Trevor pulled another 18 from this to get to 44 ofr the day and stayed two in front of runner up Robert Brown on 42.

Robert, out of Gracehill, hit 18 points out and turned on the heat on the second nine. His birdy two on sixteen moved his score for the back nine to 24 points.

Connor Taggart from the Ballycastle club hit another 42 points to secure third place. He had 20 out and hit 22 back with the boost of a two on eleven helping.

GLENS OF ANTRIM

On Sunday it was Caroline McKendry topping the charts with a great score of 42 points.

She opened the day with a birdie three and that set the scene for some ggod golf to get 22 carded at the turn. Thirteen gave Caroline nothing but apart from that few shots were lost and 20 points came her way to get her on to 42, one in front of nearest rival Garry McCullagh on 41.

Garry had blanked the sixth on the way out but nabbed a birdie three on the last for 22 back.

ALLIANCE NOVEMBER

MEETINGS

The last meet of the NE Golfing Alliance was held at Portstewart GC in miserable, wet and windy conditions.

The weather reduced the field to around 55 souls, many of them starting earlier than usual to get the best of the conditions. They played over the sixteen hole winter Strand Course layout and a home based player Danny Alexander came out tops with 32 points. M McClelland, now with Rathmore, took second place on countback with the same total.

Five players hit 31 points each, Ronan Higgins, Patsy McGahon and Declan Kelly along with Paddy McAleese and Eamon McCotter who, teamed with Portstewart Captain Mark Windebank and Alastair Glenn started in the worst of the weather and the three first mentioned featured in the prizes.

The next North East Golf Alliance meeting will be held this Thursday (27th November) at Castlerock GC.

IT’S GARRETT’S TURKEY

A return of 40 points from the sixteen holes in play at Portsewart on Saturday claimed the top turkey on offer for eleven handicapper Garrett O’Kane.

He dropped four shots on his way out to get 18 points deposited but improved on that coming back. The big difference on the back eight was that Garrett reduced both par fives to four shots each pulling seven points by this feat.

That boosted his card by 22 to get to the 40 point mark and kept Garrett out on his own in top place.

By himself in second spot was Shane O’Neill with 39 scored from his mark of sixteen. The seventh gave Shane four points for his birdy four and helped him to put 20 points on the card for the opening eight holes.

He couldn’t find any further birdies on the back eight but played it very well to add in another 19 for his turkey winning 39 points. Four players tied on 38 points each for the remaining birds, the best of these, on countback, went to thirteen handicapper Uel Milar.

His opening scores of one point and no points didn’t auger well but recovery was made and a birdy three on the eighth gave him 17 points at the turn. The finish to the back eight saw Uel take ten points from the last three holes, including a birdie two on fifteen for four.

Chris Lundy also hit 38 points from his mark of four. His three under par back eight getting 21 of these. Conal Loughrey produced a steady 18 out and 20 back for his bird. He birdied the long fourteenth for a four pointer. Andrew Stanton opened the front eight with a birdy three for four points and closed it with another to help him along to 20 points at the turn for home. A steady 18 back got him to 38 for the final bird.

On the Riverside Course it was Bobbie Millar who shone with a return of 44 points from his handicap of twelve. With the help of a birdie four on the long sixth he had 22 points after nine and kept the form going into the back nine which he played in two over par, matching the front nine tally of 22 for his 44 overall.

He needed all of these as Peter Glover was hot on his tail with 43 scored from his mark of twenty. Peter hit 21 points out and a back nine start of four and three points had him well in front.

It was the five on the par three seventeenth that caused the stumble, just one point from that meant 22 back, 43 overall and second place for Peter.

TURKEY OK FOR JJ

A good 37 points over sixteen holes was enough to put a turkey on the table for JJ McElderry at Royal Portrush on Saturday.

The six handicapper opened his account with a blank but, after bogeys on three and five, set off on a trio of birdies starting with a three on the eighth and a four on the long ninth. He hit the turn with 19 points gathered and added two pars before completing his birdie haul with a three on twelve.

The men to be pushed into second and third places in the countback procedure were Dr David Irvine and Allan Moore. David got the nod for runners up spot.

Mark Blundell finished fourth and Jonathon Frazes took the fifth turkey on offer.