Result - Stableford. PGA. Yellow tees. Sat 20th June.
Sunshine Returns, Scores Follow
After what felt like several weeks of weather forecasts masquerading as biblical warnings, Saturday finally brought something unfamiliar to Gleneagles: sunshine. Long may it continue.
For those not fortunate enough to be involved in the Club Championship and Millennium Trophy quarter-finals, the challenge this week was the PGA Centenary Course from the yellow tees. While the sunshine was warmly welcomed, the heavy rain that had flooded the courses only 24 hours earlier ensured the PGA played every inch of its yardage and then some. Fairways were soft, there was little run on the ball, and several drives landed with all the forward momentum of a lawn dart.
At the top of the leaderboard, congratulations go to Peter Unwin, who claimed first place on countback after posting an excellent 35 points. Peter's back nine proved just enough to edge out your correspondent, who also returned 35 points but had to settle for second place after briefly enjoying the rare and unfamiliar sensation of leading a golf competition.
Not that there is any silverware heading Peter's way, unfortunately. Today's reward is largely limited to bragging rights and the satisfaction of seeing one's name at the top of the sheet. Still, in golf, that is often enough.
Third place went to Rob Crockart on 32 points, with Keith Stirling and Billy Z McNeill sharing fourth on 31 points. Given Billy Z's reputation for appearing near the top of leaderboards with alarming regularity, it was perhaps no surprise to find him lurking once again.
The returning David Logie posted a respectable 30 points, while Scott Williamson matched that total. Further down, Jon Cooper followed up last week's heroics with 29 points, proving that even eagles from the rough eventually have to make way for ordinary golf.
Your correspondent had the pleasure of playing alongside David Watt and Patrick Elsmie, and between them they provided more than enough entertainment.
Lord Watt appeared to be operating under a sponsorship arrangement with Boeing, recording a remarkable sequence of 7, 2, 7 on holes five, six and seven. It was a rollercoaster of scoring that demonstrated both the highs and lows of golf in the space of three holes. One suspects even he wasn't entirely sure what would happen next.
Meanwhile, Patrick Elsmie rolled back the years on the 8th with a magnificent putt from the back of the green for a birdie. This came shortly after regaling his playing partners with the tale of reminding Jack Nicklaus about the bunker lurking behind the green. Whether Jack appreciated the advice remains lost to history, but Patrick certainly seemed to know exactly where the danger lay as he calmly holed out from distance.
As for your correspondent, there was a brief spell where competence unexpectedly broke out. Consecutive birdies on the 10th and 11th propelled the scorecard and, for a fleeting moment, the leaderboard. Sadly, golf has a habit of restoring normal service. A nostalgic snowman on the 12th quickly followed, and the remainder of the inward half became an untidy mixture of doubles, triples, apologies and scorecard arithmetic. Somehow, despite this, the total still reached 35 points.
For a few glorious minutes that was enough to lead. Then along came Peter Unwin, whose superior back nine performance nudged him into first place and left your correspondent contemplating what might have been had the 12th hole been declared a localised weather event.
Elsewhere, it was good to see strong returns from Jonathan Fletcher (29 points), Alan Black (29), and Andy Lothian (26), while several others will no doubt be telling stories of soft fairways, plugged lies and putts that were unquestionably affected by yesterday's rain.
While the Stableford competitors enjoyed their day in the sun, thoughts now turn to Sunday's knockout action.
We wish all four Club Championship semi-finalists – Mark Higham, Tony Moran, Colin Campbell and Neil Lock – the very best of luck as they battle for a place in the final.
Likewise, best wishes to the Millennium Trophy semi-finalists – Rob Simpson, Allister Wallace, Paul Kelly and Michael Cantlay – as they continue their pursuit of handicap glory.
May the weather stay kind, the putts find the middle, and may nobody have to consult a canoe before reaching the first tee.
