CONDITIONS were far from easy at Stonehaven Golf Club on Saturday for the annual Cancer Care charity stableford, with a strong wind from the south pushing the standard scratch for the day to an unusually high 67.
But for 14-handicapper Jacek Nowak, the day was just a breeze and he put together the best round of his career to leave a big field trailing in his wake.
Club council member Jacek knocked it round in 72, which translated into 44 points, six points
ahead of Stewart Allsop and John Findlay.
While others struggled, Jacek's game stayed admirably steady. He was out in 35, with a 2 at the eighth a highlight, and back in 37, finishing with an excellent par at the difficult eighteenth. He will tee up this week with his handicap lightened by two shots.
Cancer Care Stableford: (CSS 67): 44 points Jacek Nowak (14); 38 Stewart Allsop (7), John Findlay (20); 37 John Dykes (18); 36 Gary Brown (5), Gordon Adamson (3), Ian Smith (10), Frank Urquhart (14); 35 Donald MacFarlane (19), Neil Irvine (1), Stuart Campbell (156), Alan Officer (8), Kenneth Green (10); 34 Brian Duncan (24), Steven Shand (5), Richard Tindall (12), D Gall (10), Bruce Ferguson (4), Billy McEwan (10), Gordon Lamont (9), Adam Smith (8), Brian Hunter (6), Iain Taylor (5), Bob Leggate (7); 33 Roger Smith (8), Brian Thain (15), Ricky Davidson (8), Glennie Melvin (6), Ian Wood (11), Paul Lindeman (6), Mark Killoh (18); 32 Simon Lloyd (25), Bob Smith (13), Roy Wilson (10), Mark Innes (20), Alister Barnett (14), Douglas Barnard (9), Bruce Arthur (7), Donald Mitchell (14), Davie Morrison (14).
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Barry McGillivray and Stuart Dempster captured the Winter League scratch doubles trophy on Sunday, ending the four-year reign of Neil Irvine and Harry Roulston.
Scoring in the play-off round, held in perfect conditions, proved somewhat disappointing with McGillivray and Dempster round in a modest 65, a score good enough to win by four shots.
The winners played only as well as they had to and both contributed to a performance that was steady rather than inspired. They won the first with a par and were never in trouble against a pair who could not register a single birdie between them.
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Another big field will turn out on Saturday for the first round of the Cowie Cup.
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The draw for the Royal Bank of Scotland four-ball, better-ball competition has been placed on the notice board. First-round ties have to be played by June 1 and all players are advised to meet this deadline or face scratching.
"Controlled Fade"
