Kilchoman Islay Open welcomes 155 players
The weekend of May 6, 7 and 8 saw the return of a full strength Islay Golf Open held at Machrie Golf links.
The field was made up of players from Scotland, England, Ireland, USA and Germany, giving an entrant number of 155.
The competition is played over three days with everyone getting the chance to get to grips with the course during Friday’s practice round.
Played in two different sections of scratch scoring and handicap scoring, the real competition got underway on Saturday morning at 7am with match secretary Iain Shaw alongside trusty lieutenant Brian O’Neill teeing off first.
This was then followed by groups of three every eight minutes until the full 155 players had got underway.
The starting duties were taken on initially by club captain Nicol Meldrum who was then relieved of his duties by young golfing prodigy Jack Shaw.
Scoring on Saturday was of a high standard in ideal golfing conditions. The first day came to a close with late Friday callup Jim Rozga shooting a very impressive nett 63, leading from Richard Bergant (nett 67) and Iain Shaw (nett 68).
Saturday’s scratch section saw former club captain and 2019 winner Sam Johnston shoot an outstanding three under par 69 to lead from Ryan Foley (73) and David Cardwell (74).
Anyone who plays golf at the Machrie knows that no two days are the same, and this proved the case on Sunday with a stiff south-easterly wind blowing which would certainly test players’ ability. Play commenced again at 7am with three withdrawals from Saturday.
All through Sunday’s play all eyes were on the live leader-board in the scorers’ lounge looking for anyone who had succumbed to the testing conditions, or anyone who had rallied and battled their way up the leader-board.
Play came to a close at 7pm on Sunday and two men stood above the rest. In the handicap section Saturday’s overnight leader Jim Rozga produced a very strong nett 70 to hold off any challengers. This means that he has won both the Kildalton Cross and the Islay Open in the last nine months.
Results: 1 Jim Rozga (133); 2 Stewart Croll (135); 3 Gordon Hyslop (143); 4 Sam Graham (143)
In the scratch section there was only one change to the top four with George Middleton producing a strong second round to put himself into the prizes; not a bad weekend considering he was also working the nightshift at Laphroaig. Sam Johnston’s round on Saturday, followed up by a steady 77 on Sunday, proved too much for anyone to overcome, meaning that he clinched the title for the second time in four years.
Results: 1 Sam Johnston (146); 2 Ryan Foley (152); 3 George Middleton (155); 4 David Cardwell (155).
Thanks go to all the volunteers for helping out; to Machrie Hotel for hosting the event and keeping everyone fed and watered; to Dean Muir and his greenkeepers for presenting the course in the best possible way and a special thank you to David Foley of the Machrie pro shop for always being on hand to give help and advice.
A final mention goes to Kilchoman Distillery which contributed fantastic sponsorship of the event and a gift bag for every player.