As always there were many strong pairings for the Scramble, but it was the father/son combination of George and Chris McVitty who eventually took the honours. The duo made a dream start with three consecutive birdies over the first three holes, and when they added another birdie at the sixth it looked as if the competition was within their grasp before they had even reached the halfway point. The course hit back however, claiming bogey fives at both the seventh and eighth, before big hitting Chris almost drove the ninth green on their way to yet another three.

    The McVittys had only two pars over the first nine holes, and continued the trend on the tenth with another dropped shot. The two remaining par fives were to play a crucial role in their victory, with a birdie at the 11th and an eagle at the 15th. Two closing threes brought their birdie count to eight, and their total of 62.0 was enough for victory by half a shot. They will now progress to the Northern Ireland final, where they will have the opportunity to qualify for a dream golfing trip to Spain.

    Running them close was the pairing of Ivan Read and Douglas Hutton. This pairing were rather more consistent, avoiding any dropped shots throughout the day. The highlight of their round undoubtedly came at the 16th hole. With Ivan already out of bounds off the tee, the pressure was on Douglas to keep their good run going, and he delivered in some style, firing his tee shot straight into the hole for the first hole-in-one of the season.

    The Sunday competition was the Lochside Garages Stableford, and the eventual winner was seven handicapper Johnny Gibson. A regular member of the prize winner's club, Johnny romped home to a three shot victory.

    With the course in great condition, he took full advantage over the opening nine holes to post twenty points. His form continued throughout the remaining nine holes, to ease to the winner's rostrum with 39 points.

    Behind him was 20 handicapper Kevin Smyth, who matched his handicap by shooting 36 points.

    Early leader Michael Kearney eventually had to be content with third spot, after he slumped to 15 points on the second nine and lost out on a countback for the runner up position.

    Team competitions provide mixed fortunes

    Three teams from Castle Hume were doing battle over the weekend, and they returned to the clubhouse with mixed fortunes.

    The flagship event, the Ulster Cup, had been the sources of some success for the club in 2001, but this year's campaign was destined to end in similar fashion to that of 2002, after a first round exit to Spa.

    The team travelled to their opponent's course with a genuine sense of optimism, but that was quickly eroded, as the home team used their huge playing resources to eradicate the five and a half to one and a half lead Castle Hume had built up two weeks earlier.

    The Ulster Fourball team had much better fortunes however, as they eased to a first round victory over Mallusk. They went into the second leg with a virtually insurmountable 5-0 lead, and with the first match yielding half a point for the Fermanagh side, the golfers were able to get an early bus home.