Finals day at any golf club is always a great occasion, and for anyone reaching a final there is a great sense of achievement. The sun was shining down on Auchenharvie Golf course for the biggest Saturday of the season, and the finalists were all dreaming of glory!
Finals day is a culmination of a lot of hard work and effort from everyone involved with the club, from the committee and the members alike, which see three finals played on the same day in each handicap class to determine the winners of the Club Championship, The Alan Munro Trophy (second class) and the Thompson Trophy (third class)
The Finalists
All three of this seasons finals saw a few new faces reaching the finals for the first time, and a few experienced golfers reaching new milestones in their golfing career.
The club championship was contested by Brian Robertson and Joe Hume, with this, the first appearance for Joe Hume in the final, whilst Brian was making his 5th appearance, looking for title number 4.
The Alan Munro Trophy was contested by Bryan McCandless and Donnie Clarke, with Donnie making his second final appearance in his first season as a member of Auchenharvie 88, having made the final of the club singles championship.
The Thomson Trophy was played out between Derek Padden and Gordon Mackay, with both players making their first final appearance.
The Thomson Trophy
A close match was played out between Derek Padden and Gordon Mackay in the Thomson Trophy Final. With the match swinging back and forth throughout the round Gordon eventually overcame Derek by going 1up on the 17th hole and closing out the final by winning the 18th hole for a 2up score line.
The Alan Munro Trophy
The Alan Munro Trophy finished on the 17th Green but not before Bryan put up a fightback that would have got Donnie’s attention. Having been 4 down at the turn Bryan went on to pull the match back all square until the 16th Hole where Donnie held his nerve to win the hole and close out the victory by winning the 17th for a 2&1 victory.
The Club Championship
The 36 hole club championship final went all the way to the 35th hole, with both players experiencing good runs in the middle of it all. Leading 3 up playing the 27th hole Joe looked in control of the match, but Brian’s experience helped him came back strong to win the next 3 holes to level the match at all square. Brian eventually made his momentum count and the match was won 3&1 on the 17th Hole.
Huge congratulations must go to Brian Robertson who has now won 4 club championships at Auchenharvie 88, a worthy winner if ever there was one.
Congratulations To All Finalists
Another special mention must go out to all the finalists, its been a tough season with all members who competed in all the competitions giving up weekends, evenings and whatever other spare time they had to make sure all of their matches were completed by the due dates.
Commiserations to all the losing finalists, but in any final there has to be a winner and from the reports we have received all matches were played in a very sporting and gracious manner. A credit to all involved and once again, credit to all eventual winners.