McCaig Claims Bill Rainey Memorial Victory

Darren McCaig (25) secured victory in the Bill Rainey Memorial Competition, kindly sponsored by Marie Hart Physiotherapy, with an excellent score of 5 Up in the VPar format.

The competition was played using the VPar scoring system, where players gain a point for a net birdie or better and lose a point for a net bogey or worse.

McCaig made the perfect start, gaining points on each of the opening two holes before surrendering one on the par-five third. The next two holes were halved with the course before another point was gained on the sixth. After halving the seventh, he dropped a point on the eighth before finishing the front nine level with the course on the ninth to turn at 1 Up.

A dropped point on the tenth saw him return to level par, but consecutive gains on the difficult eleventh and twelfth holes moved him to 2 Up. He maintained that advantage through the thirteenth before adding another point on the long par-three fourteenth. Although McCaig dropped a point on the fifteenth, he produced a superb finish, playing the final three holes in level par gross to collect three more points and finish on an impressive 5 Up.

Robinson Narrowly Misses Out

Colin Robinson (12) finished runner-up, also recording 5 Up, but lost out on countback to McCaig's stronger closing stretch.

Robinson started brightly, collecting points on the first and third holes while halving the second and fourth. Further points followed on the fifth and sixth, the latter featuring a birdie. After halving the seventh, he added points on both the eighth and ninth to reach 6 Up at the halfway stage.

Back-to-back dropped points on the tenth and eleventh reduced his advantage before he steadied the ship with halves on the twelfth and thirteenth. A par on the fourteenth earned another point, while the fifteenth and sixteenth were halved. Robinson moved back to 6 Up with a point on the seventeenth but suffered a costly dropped shot on the final hole, finishing on 5 Up and ultimately losing out on countback.

Connon Impresses on Debut

Third place went to new member Peter Connon (15) with an excellent score of 4 Up. His round featured three birdies, coming on the sixth, thirteenth and eighteenth holes.

The remaining prize winners were:

• Gary Rodgers (15) – 3 Up

• Kieran Killough (26) – 3 Up

• Denis Stewart (15) – 3 Up

• Clifford Anderson (21) – 3 Up

• Darren Hill (9) – 3 Up

Barr Takes Gross Prize

Adam Barr claimed the Gross Prize with a superb four-under-par 64.

His excellent round included birdies on the third, eleventh, thirteenth and eighteenth holes, along with an eagle on the par-five ninth.

Nineteen Twos Recorded

A total of 19 twos were recorded during the competition, with Eric Reid achieving the rare feat of registering twos on both the second and seventh holes.

Looking Ahead

Attention now turns to Captain Noel Kidd's Captain's Day, which takes place next week. An evening function and prize-giving will follow the competition, and a large turnout is anticipated in support of the club's hard-working Captain.