Royal Dornoch 3 team who won the Handicap Trophy on home turf: l to r - Sheila Duncan, Pam Moscati, Moira Rennie, Liz Coghill (Royal Dornoch GC ladies' Captain) and Margaret Ross.

The winning scratch team: Tain, l to r - Claire Ross, Anne Ryan, Liz Coghill (Royal Dornoch ladies captain), Mary Smith (missing; Sammy Vass).

Tain hold on to Gordon Salver despite

Royal Dornoch's home advantage

ROBIN WILSON REPORTS
Host club Royal Dornoch fielded one of their strongest ever team of four players in an attempt to break Tain's eight-year stranglehold on the G A Gordon Salver in the Ross/Sutherland women's inter-club competition.

But, with Northern Counties women's champion Cara Gruber quelled by Tain's North junior champion Sammy Vass, the Salver returned to Tain for another year.
Teenager Vass (17), who takes up a four-year golf scholarship in Florida in August, returned a one-over-par 77 to better local club champion Gruber's 80 and set Tain on the pathway to their astonishing 34th win since 1957.

The Tain winning total of 241 was completed by Anne Ryan 83, and Mary Smith 81. Their non- counting score came from Claire Ross.

Royal Dornoch's runner-up gross 54 hole total was 248 - Gruber's 80 and the pick of the 84s from Pam Mackay, Alison Bartlet and Claire Riddle.
Royal Dornoch's third team won the handicap Connon Trophy: Moira Rennie, Margaret Ross, Sheila Duncan and Pam Moscati combining for a 54-hole net 234, one ahead of Golspie's Anne Macrae, Sheila Robertson, Helen Ewan and Ann Duff.

The proceeds from the Ball Sweepstake raised £180 for the Cancer Care Centre, Inverness.
Leading scores:

(Three scores to count)
Scratch

241 Tain (S Vass 77, M Smith 81, A Ryan 83, C Ross 84).
248 Royal Dornoch (C Gruber 80, P Mackay 84, A Bartlet 84, C Riddle 84).
Handicap

234 Royal Dornoch No 3 team (M Ross (18) 75, M Rennie (18) 77, S. Duncan (19) 82).
235 Golspie (S Robertson (12) 75, A Macrae (9) 79, A Duff (20) 81, H Ewan (15) 91.