SUPER SUNDAY REPORT

Forres took the trophy after a good win over Nairn who belied their lowly position to push the new champions all the way. With games being played in reverse order Forres had a slight edge after wins by Robbie Shand and team captain Andrew McCullosh. The remaining four games were exceptionally close with three of them going to the final green as Simon Bremner’s victory over Nairn team captain , David Ebner brought home the point that gave Forres the title to add to their successes of 2005 and 2012.

Hopeman and Elgin had similar 6-2 scorelines over Moray and Nairn Dunbar respectively. Hopeman finished runners-up on a countback of games won, bringing to a close another very competitive but sociable league season.

In the “Super Sunday preview” when all six clubs were playing Hopeman made full use of home advantage to beat Elgin 7-1 with Stuart Milton salvaging the Elgin pride following a last green win. More importantly it moved Hopeman up from fourth place in the table level with Elgin but now ahead on games won total. How important will that be in two weeks time?

Nairn Dunbar and Forres played out the closest match of the season so far with six games going to the last green before finishing in a 4-4 tie. Nairn Dunbar missed the chance to lead the table going into Super Sunday but are still very much in the hunt. Forres with the away point gained have their destiny in their own hands with a win against Nairn giving them the trophy unless……!!!! The permutations are many!

Moray became the first club to win away from home this season and as a result moved into joint top position with Forres. It ended the chances of their hosts, Nairn, to win for three years in a row. So five of the six clubs all have a realistic chance of winning the trophy and the odds are on a countback being the deciding factor but who will it be between?!

In the first of this month’s matches Moray kept their trophy aspirations alive with a 5-3 win over Forres at home: again it was very close with three games only being decided on the last green. Nairn’s chances of a third title in a row took a setback when they went down to a comprehensive defeat at Elgin which boosted the home club’s aspirations of a first success since 2009.

Forres joined Elgin at the top with a home win over Hopeman. Hopeman are pointless but have played both their away fixtures so with two home games to come, and effectively a third as Super Sunday hosts, they cannot be discounted even halfway through the season. The next game sees them at home against Nairn Dunbar, the only club so far to gain an away point.

Hopeman opened their account in a hard fought win over Nairn Dunbar with two of the lower order halved games being crucial to the final outcome. August 9th sees all six teams in action and if each home club -Hopeman, Nairn and Nairn Dunbar wins that day, then Super Sunday is going to have a multitude of possible winners.

Elgin started the first match of 2015 with a convincing home win over neighbours Moray. It was actually closer than the final score suggests as six of the eight games went to at least the 17th green but only Jay Sinton scoring for the Lossie men. However, early days and teams have come back from similar opening reverses to still be in the mix on Super Sunday.

Nairn opend the defence of their title with a win against Hopeman at home but were pushed all the way with four of the games not decided until the final green. For Nairn it extends the record they hold of consecutive wins in the League to eight matches.

Nairn Dunbar gained a valuable away point at Moray despite having to concede one of the games as they were a player short. Time will tell whether that will go down as a vital missed opportunity for an away victory when we reach Super Sunday.

Nairn Dunbar built on their good start to the league and at the same time ended Nairn’s winning streak when they won the top five games against their visitors. The Nairn lower order restored some local pride but the points were safely secured by the home side.

Forres opened their 2015 campaign with a good 6-2 win at home to Elgin. However the final margin of victory hides the fact the match could have gone either way with four of the eight games being halved as well as another finishing on the home green.

After retaining the trophy last year with a 100% record, Nairn will be hoping to repeat that performance and at the same time achieve a third successive win: something that has not been achieved before. However it will not be easy given how close the competition is , going down to the last games on Super Sunday in seven of the past nine years.

So Super Sunday at Hopeman in August will probably start with more then one team in contention but there will be a lot of competive golf to be played first before knowing what team or teams will have genuine title aspirations on Super Sunday.