Final day of PGA EuroPro Tour Championship

GRAHAM GORDON'S BEST OF THE DAY 68
EARNS HIM SHARE OF FOURTH PLACE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
(colin@scottishgolfview.com)

Newmachar Golf Club tour professional Graham shot the lowest round of a dramatic last day – a four-under-par 68 – to finish joint fourth in the PGA EuroPro Tour championship at the Verde Golf Complex Baltaha golf course on the Azores islands in the Atlantic.
Aberdonian Graham, pictured right, a Walker Cup player before he turned pro, had rounds of 72, 74 and 68 for two-under-par 214 in a tournament that was almost wrecked by bad weather on Saturday when play had to be suspended for the day at 4pm with only 10 players having returned first-round scores.
There was still a gale blowing for the final round as Gordon showed much of the skill that made him a leading amateur as he improved his overnight position by 19 places from an overnight position of joint 23rd.
His bogey-free final round contained four birdies – at the first, third, seventh and eighth – on the outward half of 32 and then nine straight pars to earn a £4,250 prize whcih boosted his season's total to £11,463.
That gave Grahm a final placing of 19th in the PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit, 11 places better than last year.
But for a double bogey 7 at the 14th in the second round, Gordon would have finished on the same 212 mark as Kevin Harper (East Devon), Mark Ramsdale (Formby) and Stuart Cage (Cookridge).
Ex-European Tour pro Stuart Cage won the three-way play-off for the title and the £20,000 jackpot prize.
Graham Gordon said later:
"This is a nice way to end the UK professional circuit. For potential sponsors, this shows I am learning my trade and heading in the right direction. This puts me in a positive frame of mind as I head to the Asian PGA Tour School as a representative of Newmachar Golf Club and the North-east of Scotland.
"I have hit 73% of the greens in regulation this season and my long game is in excellent shape since I started working again my with my long-term coach Jim Farmer at St Andrews.
"To hit 13 greens out of 18 on the last day here in horrendous gale-force conditions was especially pleasing. The tighter the course and tougher the conditions, the better I perform and my game is tailor-made for such EuropeanTour-type conditions."
LEADER SKELTON CRASHES
Former Walker Cup player Michael Skelton (The Wynyard), leader by three strokes overnight after a 68 and a 69, crashed to a 78 (41-37) with a triple bogey at the short second and double bogeys at the par-4 sixth and 16th.
Skelton’s 215 total put him on 214 alongside Matthew Richardson and John Wells.
Eric Ramsay (Carnoustie) and South Wales-based Jack Doherty finished tied ninth on level par 216. Doherty, with a real chance of victory after earlier rounds of 73 and 68, blew it with a closing 75 which included a double bogey 6 at the 10th.
Ramsay birdied the first, third, 11th and 15th in finishing with a 70 after a pair of 73s.
Graeme Brown (Montrose) and Portpatrick’s Euan Little shared 14th place on one-over 217. Brown birdied the fourth, 13th and 17th but double-bogeyed the 16th in returning a 71 after starting with two 73s.
Little had three birdies but four bogeys in his closing 73 after a 70 followed by a 74.
Paul Doherty scored 77, 73 and 75 for 225 and a share of 35th place.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 72
212 K Harper (Eng) 73 70 69, M Ramsdale (Eng) 70 72 70, S Cage Cookridge) 75 65 72 (Cage won three-way play-off for title and £20,000; Harper & Ramsdale £8,500 each).
214 G Gordon (Sco) 72 74 68, Z Scotland (Eng) 74 69 71 (£4,500 each).
215 M Skelton (Eng) 68 69 78, M Richardson (Eng) 71 72 72, J Wells (Eng) 74 67 74 (£2,050 each).
Other scores:
216 E Ramsay (Sco) 73 73 70, J Doherty (Sco) 73 69 75 (jt 9th) (£1,200 each).
217 G Brown (Sco) 73 73 71, E Little (Sco) 74 70 73 (jt 14th) (£850 each).
225 P Doherty (Sco) 77 73 75 (jt 35th) (£340).