The Safari Open is one of Reay Golf Clubs biggest events, a 36 hole team open that attracts teams from all over the country.

It’s a team event for 4 (or 3) players with the best 3 net scores from each round counting for the championship. Individual prizes are also on offer. Team players are drawn with other Safari ‘hunters’ to ensure an exciting finish to the event.

2010 Safari Open Results...

CSS Round 1: 72; CSS Round 2: 70

Safari [suh-fahr-ee] noun

1. 1.An outing into an undeveloped area to see wild animals [thrashing around in the undergrowth] (with sticks).
   

2. 2.A long adventurous journey.
   

3. 3.A web browser from Apple inc.
   

4. 4.A ‘major’ golf tournament in the north of Scotland

Once again Reay Golf Club played host to the ever popular Safari Team Trophy kindly sponsored by Abbott Risk Consultants, who as ever gamely fielded a team.

Yet again teams from around the country turned up, with players from as far away as Stornoway, Ballater, Preston Field and Prenton all represented.

A slightly blustery day with a touch of rain early on that cleared to a fantastic afternoon set the scene for some low scoring…..surely? Not so – the match committee are still scratching their heads as to why the scoring was so high. The CSS for rounds 1 and 2 were 72 and 70 respectively. The only conclusion was that the pressure of playing in a major was too much for some to cope with.

Round 1 belonged to “The Budgie Smugglers”; a team consisting of Gavin Sutherland, Evan Sutherland and Alistair Gunn of Reay joined by ex-Reay member Ali MacKay, who now plies his trade on the links of Wick. Two net 74s and a net 72 giving them a team total of 220. Just one shot back of the early pace setters were “Three and a Half Men”; Sandy Chisholm, Kenny Farmer and the father and son pairing of Alex and Ian Mackay (the half!) combining for a team score of 221, with Sandy’s 70 the pick of the bunch.

Tied in 3rd place on 223 after the attrition of the first round were “The 3-Jab Monkeys”; Lee Parnell, Murray McGlasson, Richie McDonald and Steve Efemey and “Mumpy’s Mates”; Cammy Ross, Dav MacKay, Donald Mowat and Granty Maxwell. “The 3-Jab Monkeys” hopes kept alive with net 71 and 73 from McDonald and Efemey respectively, whilst tem mates Parnell and McGlasson flounced around in the salad. And it was a similar tale for “Mumpy’s Mates” galvanised by the 72 and 74 of Ross and Mowat, whilst the rusty MacKay and Maxwell corroded away.

The only player to post a sub-par round at the first time of asking was Thurso’s Garry Calder. Unfortunately Garry’s relatively fantastic net 68, was not backed up by any of his fellow “Casteltown Massive” team, who took their team name a little literally in racking up a massive 232 total,

Scoring proved to be slightly easier at the second time of asking with all bar two of the teams bettering their first efforts.

Despite improving by 4 strokes in the second round “Three and a Men” slipped back one place. A second round score of 217 gave them a grand total of 438 and a third place finish.

Also slipping back one very important place; from first to second were “The Budgie Smugglers”. Despite a great net 69 by Alistair Gunn and steady scoring by his team mates, their second round score of 214, giving them a total of 434, fell short of the mark.

Like a scene from Mike Reid’s highly acclaimed and multiple award winning children’s light entertainment and quiz show “Runaround”, “The 3-Jab Monkey’s” leapt from bronze medal obscurity into the winners circle. Once again Steve Efemey, 43 and Richard McDonald lead the way, this time assisted by Murray McGlasson. Parnell, having enjoyed the salad so much in the morning was insistent on getting his greens quota of 5-a-day and spent the afternoon in the salad aswell. All this gave “The 3-Jab Monkeys” second round score of 209 for a trophy winning score of 432.

Parnell did, however, have the consolation of winning nearest the pin in the first round; his prize of a bottle of malt utilised fully in filling the cup as is the tradition. Nearest the pin in the second round went to Pete Middleton of “The Stornoway Sunday Sports Initiative”.

Taking the individual low score prize was Garry Calder who slotted a second round net 69 alongside his first round net 68 to shoot a very commendable net 137 total.