Russell "netts" the Championship

Conditions on Saturday were at best difficult and at worst dreadful, the Standard Scratch went up to 75, so Russell’s return of 38 was commendable.

His first dropped shot came at the fifth as he covered the front nine in 39 shots for a mid way total of 20 points. A drop in performance saw him pick up only three points from three holes on the return leg but an eighteen point haul for his 38 points total kept Russell a point ahead of runner up Paul Garrett.

Paul was the only other player to break the par of the course with his score of 37, this included a blank at the second which limited his front nine haul to 17 points.

After this Paul returned to form and slipped in a birdie at the par five thirteenth, but a dropped point at eighteen meant he was pushed into second spot.

Vice Captain Adrian McNeice grabbed the low section honours with his 35 points from his mark of 10. Like Stephen he also blanked the second and, with another blank at seven, returned only 16 points out. Adrian had a good scoring spell early on the back nine and added a birdie at the fourteenth to add 19 points to his card.

Best of the high section was Ciaran Cooley with his return of 34 points. Again the front nine was the more difficult and with a no score at the fifth Ciaran could only muster 15 points out. A good steady back nine pushed him up the score sheet with 19 points added to the front nine for a finish of 34.

Desi Ballantine dropped a couple of shots at the par five seventh on the way out for a gross 42 at the halfway stage. Again he recovered somewhat on the back nine, with a birdie at the thirteenth, and added a one over par 37 and a total of 79 shots for victory in the best gross category.