Result- Seniors, Super Seniors Trophy and Monthly Medal. Queen’s. White Tees. Sat 30th May. (update)

Today’s Champions:

Senior Trophy, Super Senior & Gross Monthly Medal winner – Mr. Mike Page

Net Monthly Medal winner – Mr Paul Wadsworth

In a final twist that would keep any acting resident actuary up late checking the decimal points, a late stewards’ enquiry has resulted in a reshuffling of the silverware. It turns out that Michael Page’s stellar round was even more significant than first reported. We are delighted to confirm that Michael has officially been crowned both the Seniors and Super Seniors Trophy winner for 2026. Apologies for any confusion in the initial tally, but when a man cards a 71 gross and a 63 net, the numbers eventually speak for themselves—and usually they say "bring more polish for the trophies."

Report

There was a lovely feel to the Queen’s on Saturday morning. The air was calm, the sun made the occasional welcome appearance, and the heavy rain clouds hovered just nearby as a reminder that at Gleneagles, reassurance is always temporary. It looked a good day for golf, and for many it was. For others, it was one of those days when the Queen’s quietly smiles, lets you think all is well, and then removes a shot or three from your card when you are least expecting it.

Your golf correspondent had the pleasure of joining Richard Hally, newly appointed Honorary Life Member, along with Bill Sexton, and it quickly became apparent that honorary status brings with it certain privileges. Mr Hally seemed to enjoy every kindly bounce available on the property: tee shots skirting bunkers, approaches taking the generous side of slopes, and the sort of friendly outcomes that have lesser mortals looking skyward and asking perfectly reasonable questions. It was all going splendidly until the 15th, where his first drive disappeared down the slope on the right, followed shortly afterwards by his provisional. In a noble act of assistance, your correspondent managed to find the provisional but not the original. Mr Sexton, meanwhile, took it upon himself to flatten some of the jaggy bushes by falling on top of them, apparently in the name of science.

While the Honorary Hally group was enjoying its adventures, our newest member Dr Tom MacKenzie was putting on a short-game clinic of his own. He excelled on the 13th where, after finding the water and staring a double-bogey in the face, he produced a moment of genuine magic by chipping from the water, over his golf bag (see below) and sinking the putt for a par! It was the sort of recovery that is good for the soul—if not necessarily for the handicaps of his playing partners.

While all this was going on, some rather serious golf was being played elsewhere.

At the top of the gross standings, and Super & Seniors winner, was Michael Page, whose excellent 71 was comfortably the best score of the day. On a course that can be deceptively awkward even in gentler conditions, Page produced the standout round: tidy, controlled, and clearly the work of someone who had no interest in unnecessary drama. It was a terrific effort and fully deserving of the top prize. Just to underline the quality of his golf, he also finished second in the net with 63, meaning he was never far from taking the lot.

The net honours went to Paul Wadsworth, whose superb 62 was the best score on the adjusted side and, by any standard, an outstanding return. A gross 78 on the Queen’s was impressive enough; to turn that into a 62 net was the work of a man who clearly got a great deal right. Congratulations to Paul on a tremendous round and a deserved win.

There were plenty of other notable performances too.

Doug Law had an excellent day, finishing tied third in the gross with 77 and taking third in the net with 65. That is strong golf in anybody’s language, and it marks him down as one of the steadiest performers of the day.

Patrick Elsmie and Mike Collier both returned 66 net, sharing fourth place, while Crawford Gray and Ken Swa were just behind on 67. Gray’s effort was particularly eye-catching given he also made the top dozen in the gross standings with 80.

There was a busy cluster at 69 net, with Rob Crockart, Alan Penman and Aidan O’Carroll all finding their way into contention, while Billy Z McNeill, Paul Lewis, your correspondent Tariq Ali, and Rob Simpson each posted 70 net. As ever, Billy Z was loitering near the upper reaches of the net table with the sort of inevitability one has come to accept.

On the scratch side, Tony Moran took second place with a fine 75, and there was a tie for third between Doug Law and Mark Higham on 77. Ryan Longmuir, Andy Lothian, Paul Wadsworth, and Rob Simpson all followed with 78, suggesting the Queen’s was yielding scores only to those prepared to stay patient and think their way around it.

Further down, David Logie’s 79 gross caught the eye, even if the net column was less charitable, while Richard Hally himself signed for 79 gross and 71 net — a fine return for a man clearly determined to make full and immediate use of his new honorary magic.

Not everyone enjoyed such harmony with the Queen’s. The course claimed a number of non-finishers, including Scott Williamson, Kevin Dickson, Alan Black, Tony Stewart, Tom Fleming, and Ian Fisher. On a day that looked relatively calm, that was a reminder that the Queen’s can still be quietly ruthless.

So, in the end, it was a day for worthy winners. Michael Page claimed the gross prize with a splendid 71 and Seniors Trophy and the Super Seniors, while Paul Wadsworth took the net honours with an excellent 62. These rounds stood out in their own way and gave the leaderboard a properly polished look.

As for the rest, there was good golf, bad luck, fortunate bounces, unexpected recoveries, and one heroic assault on some jaggy bushes. Which, when you think about it, is a fairly complete day at the golf.

Apology

Before we leave the Queen's behind, I must offer a sincere apology to Mr Eric Lambert. In the excitement of the draw preview, his name was curiously absent from the mentions—a regrettable oversight considering he arrived as our defending Super Senior champion. Eric, of course, is far too seasoned a campaigner to let a lack of press coverage affect his focus; as the Dun Whinny resident actuary, he likely calculated the odds of a correspondent's oversight long before the first tee. He went out and posted a very respectable 87 gross (71 net) to finish comfortably inside the top half of the field. While the final numbers may not have quite balanced in favour of keeping the trophy on his mantelpiece this time around, it was a characteristically gritty and well-calculated defence from one of the club's true stalwarts.

Taz