McMullan sails to victory in RNLI stroke competition at Raceview

They included the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the first round of the 54-hole Harry Harper Cup, while those with a handicap of 13 or more could opt for the O’Hagan Salver gross trophy.

The scoring was really good with the sixth best return being three under par.

The scoring was set alight by Gary McMullan (21) who posted a winning score of nett 61 with his front nine of five over gross leaving him with 16 shots for the back nine.

He used nine of those shots - three of them coming on a rather expensive par three 16th hole - but he still recorded a nett 61.

Second nett was 11-handicapper John Lorimer who returned equal nines of 37 shots, having been through the first nine in two over gross, even allowing for two dropped shots on the par five third and another shot on the par five ninth.

Against that, he scored six pars plus a birdie on the eighth to be two over entering the second nine.

Scoring a par plus two bogeys, he then completed his round with a trio of bogeys, pars on the 16th and 17th and he also had the luxury of a birdie at the 13th.

Third nett came from Kevin McGarry (8) with a nett 64 and he edged out Eugene M Reid by virtue of a better last hole.

Kevin’s first nine was made up of five pars, three bogeys plus a birdie on the par five ninth.

The second nine saw him add seven pars plus dropped shots on the 16th and 17th for a two over par 35 and a gross four over 72 for the round. Reid (19) was through the opening nine in six over but the inward nine was a different story where he five bogeys and two pars, only to drop three shots over the last two holes.

Fifth nett was Dylan Cole (14) with a nett score of 65 and on a better second nine from Steven Thompson (19).

The best gross score came from one-handicapper Gary Black who played the 18 holes in three under 65.

O’HAGAN SALVER

The O’Hagan Salver was won by Darren Hill who, playing off a 13 handicap, scored a gross 79.

An outward nine hole score of five over of which he dropped three shots on the sixth, to which he added six pars along with dropped shots on the seventh and eighth.

The inward nine saw him register six fours plus a trio of fives on the 11th, 12th and 13th for a six over score and 11 in total.

Also on a gross 79 was Eric Smyth (13) who played the first nine in three over but the second nine accounted for eight over, 41.

SUNDAY SWEEP

The Sunday sweep resulted in a win for Kieran McGaughey (11) with a total of 40 stableford points.

His opening nine of 22 points included three birdie and his points total would have been greater but for a ‘ding’ at the last.

Second prize went to David Black (12) with 39 points, while Brian Crawford was third with 37 points.