DAY ONE - THURSDAY - NEWMACHAR GOLF CLUB


As dawn broke on the morning of competition the nerves and tension were palpable as the players gathered in the car park of Newmacher Golf Course. After a few cobwebs were cleared on the range and hushed discussions as to pairings completed; the talking was over and Project Golf 2008 was finally here. In an unexpected turn of events the players were announced onto the tee by the local Ivor Robson who may or may not have been assessing whether the competitors were fit to take to the course. In any event Ian Gibson stepped up and planted the opening shot of Project Golf 2008 straight down the middle of the fairway and the tournament was off.

Ian's drive Sandy's drive Graeme's drive Jim's drive Martin's drive Andy's drive Alan's drive Barry's drive
Video clips of each players first drive. Click to view.

The first Team South paring of Gibson and The Butcher wasted no time in firing to four up after nine holes although the players were finding it tough with one hole halved in a remarkable 7! Their second group out were also fairing well with Donald and Booth two up at the turn thanks to very solid team play notching six pars and three bogeys. MacLachlan and Mutch failed to recreate their warm up form and despite a brief rally after the turn slipped further behind before falling to a 5&3 defeat. Meanwhile, Grant and Watt pulled a hole back and were only one behind before being dealt a killer blow by Donald with three straight pars followed by birdie wrapping up a 4&3 win to leave Team North trailing 2-0 after the first round.

Gibson & McGregor 5&3 win over MacLachlan & Mutch
Donald & Booth 4&3 win over Grant and Watt

After some hastily consumed lunch and ushered on by the increasingly curmudgeonly starter it was straight back into action on the imposing Hawkshill course. Despite no sign of any club players due on the tee after the Project Golf pairings the starter fired up the PA system and announced the afternoon pairings to the assembled bar staff who were busily clearing the tables in the clubhouse and wondering why the till was short the cost of one cheeseburger and chips.


Pictures from Newmachar, click to enlarge.

Amid the rush there was confusion abound as the line-ups for both camps were thrown into disarray. As the dust settled from the run to the tee McGregor and Gibson headed out against Grant and Mutch with Watt and MacLachlan up against the form team of the morning in Booth and Donald. The early jousting was tight but both Team South pairings began to seize the initiative toward the turn to be one and two up respectively. From the turn Gibson and McGregor once again upped the pace and raced away with three unanswered holes to what proved to be an unassailable 4-hole lead. It was too great an advantage to slip and they held their nerve to record a 4&3 victory.


More pictures from Newmachar, click to enlarge.

Watt and MacLachlan pulled a hole back at the tenth before agonisingly missing a glorious chance at 11 to level the match. Team South were not in a forgiving mood and promptly capitalised with a fine par rescued from the trees by Donald to move back to two up at the 12th. A birdie from MacLachlan at the 14th threatened to mark a Team North comeback but a dip in form at the 16th allowed Team South to win the hole with bogie and move to dormie two. A wayward drive from MacLachlan and a lost ball from Watt saw a first day whitewash completed at the next hole with a half in fives. As the sun set on the first day a shell-shocked Team North were left wondering what had gone wrong as they prepared for the morning’s fourballs and their specialist event the Team Scramble.

Gibson & McGregor 4&3 win over Mutch and Grant
Donald & Booth 2&1 win over MacLachlan and Watt

Day 1 Score:


Next up was Aboyne Golf Club, where Team North had to up their game if Project Golf 2008 was to last past Day 2.

---
Project Golf 2008: Review
<<< SUMMARY :: DAY 2 >>>
Back to top