STEPHEN DODD WINS FOURTH WELSH PGA TITLE

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Stephen Dodd wrapped up his fourth Welsh National PGA Professional Championship title with ease over the windswept fairways of his ‘home’ club Southerndown.
The European Tour campaigner, playing with a spare set of clubs from his garage, secured a three-shot success in the Ryder Cup Europe supported event after carding a second round three-under-par 67 for a winning four-under-par 136 total.
Matthew Tottey (North Wales Golf Club) took second place after a two-under-par 68 eased to him one-under for the tournament, with Liam Bond (Marriott St Pierre) finishing third after a final day 73 took him to three-over.
Dodd, winner of the title 1995, 2001 and 2007, was more than satisfied with his two days’ work as he prepares to return to the rigours of the European Tour and the Portuguese Masters this week as he attempts to retain his card.
The three-time Tour winner was rarely troubled. He dropped a shot at the second, which he regained instantly at the third, before an eagle at the sixth and a trio of birdies from the ninth gave him a commanding lead despite dropped shot at the seventh. He had further bogeys at 14 and 18, which were tempered by a birdie at the 15th.
The win moved the 45-year-old to within two of Sid Mouland’s record six titles and alongside Craig DeFoy in third on the all-time winners list.
“I’m pleased as it’s been tough conditions the past two days and I did what I set out to achieve and hopefully there’s a few more titles still to come,” said Dodd.
“I had a good middle of the round from the sixth to the 12th with three birdies and an eagle, which gave me a bit of cushion and made the last few holes easier.
“It’s nice to come back and catch up with a few of lads and see a few people as you don’t get much opportunity playing on Tour, which is now my priority.
“I got what I wanted out of the week and hopefully I can take some of that form into Portugal. I’ve played a lot of events but not made that many cuts so it’s nice to get some golf in some tough conditions, so hopefully I’ve learned something and can take that forward into the coming weeks.”
Runner-up Matthew Tottey, whose round comprised four birdies and two bogeys, admitted his disappointment at missing out on the title but took plenty of positives from his performance after a challenging year.
“I’m a little bit disappointed as I felt I hit the ball really well from tee to green but just didn’t really hole the putts that I needed to around the turn,” he said.
“Stephen played really well and holed the putts at the right time and he got away from me a bit but it was a good battle, I just came up a little bit short at the end.
“But it’s been a transitional year and it’s nice to see some of the hard work starting to pay off.”
Five bogeys and two birdies were the story for Bond, who is also facing a battle to retain his European Tour card and avoid a return to Qualifying school next month.
However, the event was more than useful as he prepares for the final weeks of the European Tour season. He said: “I was quite pleased with the way played over the two days.
“I didn’t putt very well today to keep the momentum going, which was frustrating more than anything else.
“It was still tough and testing out there but Stephen played well so he was going to be hard to beat. He’s a member here too, so he knows where to put the ball.
“But I’m quite happy with my game and I’ve got three weeks off now without a tournament and then it’s off to South Africa to try and keep my card.”
The tournament also decided the make-up of the three-man Wales team competing in next month’s PGAs of Europe International Team Championships in Portugal. Making the plane are stalwarts Simon Edwards (Windermere) and Andrew Barnett (North Wales Golf Range) along with debutant Matthew Parsley (Holywell).
Also celebrating was Glyn Davies, who took the Senior Welsh National PGA Professional title.
+Picture at top of article by courtesy of Michael Lewis of Getty Images (c).

FINAL TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
136 Stephen Dodd (unatt) 69 67
139 Matthew Tottey (North Wales GC) 71 68
143 Liam Bond (Marriott St Pierre) 70 73
144 Simon Edwards (Windermere) 73 71
146 Matthew Parsley (Holywell) 79 67
147 Trevor Jones (Whipsnade) 76 71, Richard Dinsdale (Parc Golf Academy) 75 72, Andrew Humphreys (Llanymynech) 74 73, Joe Ferguson (Celtic Manor) 74 73
148 Andrew Barnett (North Wales GR) 79 69, David Wood (St Clere’s Hall) 78 70, Adam Constable (Cardiff) 76 72

A full rundown of scores can be found at: http://pgagbi.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgagbi11/event/pgagbi11672/contest/1/leaderboard.htm