LAST NINE HOLES COST ROSS CAMERON £10,000 PRIZE

ELLON MAN FINISHES JOINT SEVENTH
AFTER LEADING EUROPRO TOUR EVENT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Ross Cameron’s glory run in this week’s PGA EuroPro Tour event at Ballymena, North Ireland, ended disappointingly for the Aberdeenshire man. After starting the Galgorm Castle Northern Ireland Open with a brilliant round of nine-under-par 63 and leading by two strokes with one round to go, the McDonald Ellon tour pro subsided to a closing round of three-over-par 75 to finish joint seventh on seven-under-par 209.
Cameron, in his second year on the EuroPro Tour, still achieved his highest finish so far and earned £781, but the £10,000 jackpot prize had been his for the taking.
Instead it went to Chris Hanson (Woodsome Hall) who beat Graeme Clark (Doncaster) at the second hole of a play-off after they had tied on 14-under-par 202. Clark earned £5,000.
Cameron was still in with a shout after reaching the turn in three-under 33, thanks to an eagle 2 at the second and birdies at the long third and ninth holes. But it all came apart at the seams on an inward half of six-over-par 42. He bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 13th, before double-bogeying the short 14th, birdieing the 15th but slumping to another double bogey at the 17th.
Duncan Stewart (Grantown on Spey) earned £370 for a joint 20th place finish on 211 with a final round of 70.
Shaun McAllister, like Cameron, slid down the leaderboard with a closing 75 for 212 and joint 27th position. He had a double bogey 7 at the last after starting with three bogeys in the first six holes. He earned £315.
The worst final round by a Scot was Lee Harper's 79 for 221 and joint 51st position. He had an eagle, two birdies, three double bogeys and one triple bogey - quite a collection.
The galleries were among the biggest ever seen at a EuroPro Tour event and they included former US Open champion Graeme McDowell who lives at Portrush, not all that many miles from Ballymena.
McDowell thought the EuroPro Tour provided not only a useful but necesssary stepping stone to the European Tour.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
202 Chris Hanson (Woodsome Hall) 66 71 65, Graeme Clark (Doncaster) 66 70 66: Hanson (£10,000) bt Clark (£5,000) at the second hole of sudden death play-off.
206 Steven Hackett (Ireland) 69 70 67 (£2,500).
208 Billy Fowles (Wentworth) 71 71 66, Michael McGeady (Ireland) 72 69 67, Michael Collins (Ireland) 69 72 67 (£1,433 each)
SCOTS' SCORES
209 Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon) 67 71 75 (T7) (£781).
211 Duncan Stewart (Grantown on Spey) 71 70 70 (T20) (£370).
212 Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) 69 68 75 (T27) (£315).
213 John Gallagher (Swanston) 72 68 73, Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 72 68 73 (T31) (£280 each).
214 Chris Kelly (Cawder) 74 67 73 (T38) (£255).
215 Paul Doherty (Vale Hotel) 74 69 72 (T41) (£242)
221 Lee Harper (Archerfield) 72 70 79 (T51) (£190).