Keith motors ahead to take Centenary win

Keith Browne (13) swapped selling Fords and kept his ‘focus’ on winning the day with a super 43 points.

A poor six at the first was balanced by a birdie three at the fifth and helped to give him 23 points out. A steady back nine, boosted by another bird at 14, added another 20 points. Keith is fresh from winning the President’s Prize (Strand Society) a few weeks ago and will now have to get used to a two shot reduction of his handicap.

This is something Dominic Loughrey will have to bear as well as he scored 41 off his mark of 15. A birdie two at the second offset a seven at the par five fourth and a consistent performance from there in gave him runner-up spot.

Russell Stewart (9) had an eventful round starting with a three at the par 4 first followed by birdies at five and seven, an eagle three at thirteen and an unfortunate six at the sixteenth. All of this added up to 40 points and won him the low section prize.

Alan Bell took the high section with 39 points despite blanking the eighteenth. Both Alan and Russell lost a stroke off their handicaps. Like the winner, Stephen Garrett (2) also found the first a trial taking what was to turn out to be a good six after a trip into the undergrowth. It was so thick he couldn’t even throw a club!

He recovered, however, to take the prize for best gross with birdies at 2, 7, 9 and 14 giving him a creditable 72.