THE brand new season at Helensburgh Golf Club got off to a spectacular start for Stephen Donald.

In the first club’s Breingan Medal round of the year, he carded an excellent gross score of 74 for a net 65 to win the first class honours on the day.

Matthew Gorman could also be rightly pleased with the gross 77 which earned him a net score of 64 and top place in the second class section.

The same net score of 64 was shared by two players at the head of the first class field, with Filippo Madonia edging out James Mitchell by virtue of the better inward half.

The annual ARC Trophy was won by Bill Lawler with a score of 40 stableford points; Robert Dunbar also amassed 40 points from his round, but Bill’s better inward half earned him the prize.

The first scramble competition of the season, the RNLI mixed scramble, saw perennial winners Ben Canham, Gemma Canham, June Haggarty and Babs Robertson emerge victorious with a net 51.