Craigmillar Park Open provides another Perthshire winner

Craigmillar Park Open play-off participants Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), left, and winner Gavin Deer (Murrayshall) in front of the splendid scoreboard, operated by a North-east of England company, used for the first time at the Edinburgh tournament. Images by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

A double whammy for Dear:

First-ever play-off and

first-ever 72-hole victory

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

It's Perthshire for winners at the moment! Last weekend Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) won the Scottish Champion of Champions title at Leven after a play-off.

And today Murrayshall’s Gavin Dear chalked up his first-ever 72-hole win and his first play-off success to capture the Craigmillar Park Open, the curtain-raiser of the Scottish Golf Union’s Order of Merit events, at the Edinburgh parkland venue Dear, 24, and Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), a 27-year-old bank manager, had tied after four rounds on a tournament record low aggregate of 19-under-par 261 over the par-70 lay-out. Dear scored 63, 69, 64 and 65 for 270, while Clark had rounds of 69, 61, 67 and 64.

Dear's four years on a golf scholarship at Lynn University, Boca Raton in Florida meant that he did not make his debut in the Craigmillar Park Open until two years ago ... when he finished third. Last year he finished second and now he comes first.

As he said in his winner's speech: "Where do I go from here?"

In fact, we now know he will not be defending the Edinburgh title (read on for the reason).

Presentation of the vouchers and the trophy was made by Ian Henderson, Managing Director of the tournaments's main sponsors, Golf Finance Ltd.
In a flat calm, low scoring weekend, Clark’s 61 equalled the local member Kenneth Mail's course record for what is a short course by modern standards - only 5,825yd - but it is quirky and the competitors who don't like it are generally those who can't score well over it!

Having said that, the really good players can master it. Look back at the list of winners since it was started in 1961 - Ronnie Shade three times, Charlie Green twice, Ian Hutcheon twice, Nick Faldo (1976), Andrew Oldcorn, Marc Warren and so on.

The halfway cut at two-under-par 138 also matched the lowest in the tournament’s history as players seem to be hitting the ball farther and farther every season. They can almost all now drive the short par-4s of which there are plenty.

The play-off provided a case in point.
The big-hitting Dear was pumped up for the play-off. He drove through the green at the first hole, a hit of more than 360 yards but had to settle for a half in 4 after missing a 3ft birdie putt.
At the second extra hole, the 361yd 18th, Dear cracked his drive some 330 yards and pitched to 3ft for a tie-breaking birdie 3 against a par 4 by Clark, the halfway leader by two shots from both Dear and North-east of England challenge Jack Senior (Heysham).
“I was a bit rusty at last weekend’s Champion of Champions at Leven (where he finished joint eighth) so I worked hard on one or two things during the week since then and I felt a lot more at ease here at Craigmillar Park,” said Dear, a member of the three-man Scotland team who won the Eisenhower Trophy in Australia last October and followed that up by becoming the first Scot to win the prestigious Dixie Amateur in Florida over the festive period.
“Strangely enough I had never figured in a play-off and this is my first ever win in a four-rounder. So it’s rather neat that these things have come together in my favour. It’s good to get an Order of Merit tournament in under my belt this early in what is a Walker Cup year,” added Dear who has two ambitions to achieve before he turns pro in late September.

"Obviously, I want to be selected for the Walker Cup match in America in September and I also want to make it into the top 10 of the R&A World Amateur Rankings ... I have to turn pro soon, I'm 24, and can't delay it much longer. If I don't make it through the European Tour School later this year, then mini-tours in America would be an option. I spent four years at Lynn University in Florida so I have a lot of contacts out there."

Jack Senior (Heysham), one of several North-east of England players in the field, quietly crept up on the leaders with rounds of 66, 66, 66 and a bogey-free 64 to a total of 262 - only one shot away from making it a three-may play-off for the title.

The final totals of a tournament can only hint at the twists and turns of players' fortunes over four rounds. The 2009 Craigmillar Park Open was no exception. What great television it would have made!

Gavin Dear was the first-round leader with a seven-under 63; Matthew Clark the halfway leader by two shots after that 61 for 10-under-par 130, and Dear regained the pole position with a third-round 64 for 14-under 196.

Scottish stroke-play champion from last year, Wallace Booth - one of Dear's Eisenhower Trophy-winning team-mates, of course (Calum Macaulay, now a pro, was the other) - came into the picture with a third-round 63 which had the curious count of 30 shots from tee to green and 33 putts once he got there.

Booth kept up his momentum in the final round with four-under-par 31 to the turn, including a bogey in his first nine, but his charge came off the rails at the 10th where he pulled his tee shot into trees, came out into a bunker and finished up with a double-bogey 6.

The Comrie man finished with a 67 to share fourth place with Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) on 14-under 266.

Clark continued to shoot the lights out in the final round with 29 to the turn. He birdied the first two holes, got an eagle 2 at the third where he pitched in from 50ft. Birdies at the eighth and ninth regained him a one-shot lead from Dear who had also got an eagle, a 2 at the second where he pitched in, followed by birdies at the fourth and fifth for 31 out.

Coming home, Clark could do no better than nine straight pars, which, in the final analysis, cost him the biggest win of his career.

Dear, on the other hand, birdied the 10th and 13th, lost a ball at the 14th but got a birdie with his second ball to drop only one shot, and then got home in two at the 488yd 17th for a two-putt birdie. That put him a stroke ahead of Clark but the Murrayshall man, by his own admission, hit "a poor drive" down 18, had to take a penalty drive from the trees on the right of the fairway and finished with a bogey 5 for a 65 and 261.

Clark, coming up behind, had holed a 20ft putt to save par at the 15th, but his birdie putts just would not drop at the 16th, 17th or 18th and he returned a 64, also for 261.

Incidentally, the two players who had holes in one on Saturday did not qualify for the final two rounds. Scott Michie (Thornton) aced the seventh (204yd) and Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) had his hole in one at the 13th (152yd).

FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4 x 70). CSS 69 69 68 68
261 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) 63 69 64 65, Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 69 61 67 64 (Dear won sudden death play-off at second extra hole).
262 Jack Senior (Heysham) 66 66 66 64.
266 Wallace Booth (Comrie) 65 71 63 67, Paul O’Hara (Colville Park) 69 65 64 68.
268 Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) 69 67 69 63.
269 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 70 64 69 66.
270 Steven Armstrong (Turnhouse) 67 70 68 65, Stuart Ballingall (Dunston Hall) 67 69 65 69, James White (Lundin) 66 69 69 66.
271 Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) 69 69 68 65, Steven McEwan (Caprington) 69 66 67 69.
272 Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 69 69 67 67, Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) 67 68 67 70, Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 67 68 71 66, Sean Heads (Hexham) 65 70 72 65.
273 Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 69 69 70 65, Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 67 68 72 66, Gary Tough (Letham Grange) 73 62 68 70.
274 Glenn Campbell (Murrayshall) 64 70 71 69.
275 Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie) 70 68 70 67, Aaron Howard (Murrayshall) 70 68 72 65, Sean McGarvey (Glencorse) 65 72 69 69, Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 65 69 70 71.
276 Michael Main (Thornton) 73 65 69 69, James Ross (Royal Burgess) 68 69 69 70.
277 James Curry (Prudhoe) 71 65 73 68.
278 Philip McLean (Peterhead) 69 69 71 69.
279 Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) 70 66 77 66.
290 Richard Gill (Craigmillar Park) 70 67 76 77.