THE Tennent’s Winter League competition at Helensburgh Golf Club went out in a blaze of glory.

The final day of the tournament rounded off seven weeks of play in glorious sunshine after the previous mix of wind and rain experienced on previous Sundays since October 3.

Week five of the competition was rescheduled to Sunday because of the adverse playing conditions on the original date, and 100 players from the club’s gents’ section turned out to play the last round of this competition.

Superb playing conditions were ideal for recording good scores, and the field lived up to those expectations, with more than half of the competing pairs racking up more than 40 stableford points.

Two of them achieved a very creditable 47 points, but with the better inward half it was Ian Harrington and Graham Thorley who took first place, with Graham receiving the first prize from competition convener Ivor Jones.

Ian and Graham’s best performance in the tournament before Sunday had seen them take third place the previous week, with their table-topping display representing an excellent improvement in form.

John Craig and Terry Smith senior received a bottle of whisky each after finishing in second place.

Four pairs of players recorded scores of 46 points, but it was Gary Potter and Lewis Slee who took the final podium position on the day, again thanks to the better inward half.

Only four twos were scored on the day’s counting holes – the third and the ninth – with Mick Massey, Craig Bonthrone, Alan Drysdale and Alex McCallum each rewarded for their individual efforts with a prize of six Pro V golf balls.

Seven substitutes stepped in to replace absentee players which made up the full field.

Team honours in the overall competition went to Don Griffin’s team: his playing partner Tim Hughes and their team-mates Ramsay Howarth, Karl Powell, Dave Allan, Craig MacPhee, Alec Dunlop, Sandy Bulloch, Dougie Stewart and Stewart Fraser finished with a total of 1,009 points, 11 clear of their nearest rivals, and each won a bottle of whisky and a hip flask for their efforts.

The race for eclectic honours was won by Dave Allan and Craig MacPhee, who amassed an impressive score of 61 points, three ahead of their nearest rival pairs, Stuart Latimer and Mick Tahany, George Cairns and Lou Carrier, both of whom scored 58 points.

The team and eclectic prizes will be presented at the tournament’s prize-giving dinner at the golf club on Friday, December 3.