| LOCAL EVENTS
Grant Grabs Jock’s Pot Ayrshireman’s back-9 blitz earns him the coveted Mackie Quaich.
Charles McLaughlin
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Jim Mailer tees off at the picturesque 6th hole at Shek O Country Club; Stuart Grant receives the Quaich from Jock Mackie (inset) glorious day greeted competitors at the latest edition of the JD Mackie Quaich, which was held at Shek O Country Club in early October. Known among members simply as “Jock’s Pot”, this is a stableford tournament arranged by the Hong Kong St Andrew’s Society.
Several past winners were in the field, including ex-Chieftains Paul Curran and Fiona Donnelly, as well as Stewart Saunders and Roy Kinnear. Sadly, travel commitments meant that last year’s champion Graeme Soutar was unable to defend his crown. On a day with some exceptional scoring, Jim Mailer in the first group posted a fine 38. This was matched late in the day by the consistent Alan ”Lofty” McTaggart, who narrowly lost out in a play-off last year. In a inconsistent round, McTaggart brilliantly eagled the short par-four 2nd and was a whisker away from a hole-in-one at the 230-yard par-three 7th. However, he also posted three triple bogeys and two double bogeys – both of the latter in his last three holes. Donnelly briefly took the lead with a fine 39-point effort that appeared to be good enough to earn her the trophy for a second time but Stuart Grant shot through the pack to win with a stunning 42 point haul. Playing off a handicap of eight, the tall Ayrshireman started with a disastrous triple, but managed to score a reasonable 17 points on the front. “I watched Alan McTaggart’s tee shot on the 7th to two inches, which was the shot of the day for me, and I was delighted to match his birdie”, said Grant. However, it was the back nine which turned the tournament. Trailing his playing partner by four points at the turn, Stuart produced a stunning bogey-free, three-under par back nine for a massive 25-point haul. HK Golfer・NOV 2012
“That’s a first for me and I’m particularly proud of it, especially as it was in the presence of my two old friends and ushers Alan McTaggart and Andrew Riddick,” beamed Grant after his round. Sponsors of the event included HK Golfer, TTI Asia and Edinburgh Napier University. Later Grant told us that although he started playing golf with his father at Royal Troon, at the tender age of six, he currently only plays around four times a year in Asia. As a member of the St Andrew’s Society for 22 years, he has played in several events at Shek O, “but winning Jock’s Pot is a first for me, and I’m delighted”. Grant was presented with the silver trophy, champagne and other goodies by Jock Mackie himself. Mackie, as long-time HK Golfer readers will be aware, is a Hong Kong golfing legend and remains to this day the only player from our city to play in the Open Championship, a feat he achieved at Muirfield in 1959. –CM All are welcome to play in “Jock’s Pot.” For details contact: admin@standrewshk.org
Results and Prizes Winner: Stuart Grant (42 points) Runner-up: Fiona Donnelly (39 points) Keenest player: Jack Cumming (17 points) Best Non-member: Ian Joshua (30 points) HKGOLFER.COM