JAMES BYRNE FAILS BY ONE SHOT TO MAKE IT TO STAGE TWO

 

Players from 18 different countries were among the 43 qualifiers who progressed through the First Qualifying Stage Section A in Austria and Scotland this week.

The most notable failure was repeating Northern Open champion James Byrne from Banchory. An opening 77 cost him dearly in the final analyis because he missed out by only one stroke from quaifying for Stage 2 in Spain.

All those who failed to progress have lost their entry fees of £1,500 each.

Rodolfo Cazaubon moved a step closer to becoming only the second Mexican to earn a place on The European Tour when he led the 23 qualifiers from Ebreichsdorf GC at the First Qualifying Stage Section A.

 

Cazaubon shot a closing 67 for a 20 under par aggregate of 268 to finish three clear of Germany’s Stefan Wiedergrün. The only Mexican golfer to earn fully exempt status on the European Tour to date was Rafael Alarcon in 1985.

 

Players from 13 different nationalities, including from emerging golfing nations such as Russia, the Czech Republic and China as well as Mexico, were among the 23 who finished on 281, seven under par, or better.

 

A further five nationalities were represented among the 20 qualifiers from The Roxburghe in Scotland with Swede Philip Eriksson leading the way to the Second Stage with a final round of 69 for a ten under par total of 278 and three stroke victory.

 

The English pair of Zane Scotland and Jamie Moul finished second while Brenden Gielow, one of three Americans to make it through the First Qualifying Stage in Scotland and Austria, shooting the low final round of 66 to progress to the next phase.

 

A total of 43 players progressed through and will take their place in the Second Qualifying Stage, to take place in the first week of November over four courses in Spain leading to the Final Stage at PGA Catalunya Resort.

 

The First Qualifying Stage continues next week as more hopefuls begin their quest for a place on The European Tour with Section B taking place at Wychwood Park in England and Golf and Country Club Fleesensee in Germany, a European Tour Destination.

 

 

Final scores from The Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course (par 72) – 20 players qualified on 289 (+1) and better

 

278 P Eriksson (Swe) 72 66 71 69,

 281 Z Scotland  (Eng) 71 70 70 70, J Moul  (Eng) 71 69 69 72,

 284 D Mooney (Nir) 72 71 71 70,

 285 B Fowles (Eng) 72 74 67 72, G Wright  (Wal) 73 69 69 74,

 286 D Rawluk (Irl) 73 72 72 69, P Ferrier (Sco) 69 71 74 72,

 287 B Gielow (USA) 76 74 71 66, S Archibald (Eng) 72 74 74 67, J Westwood (Eng) 74 73 72 68,

 288 M Daley (Eng) 69 70 79 70, I Gregory (Eng) 73 71 72 72, S Crichton (am) (Sco) 74 69 73 72, Z Blair (am) (USA) 71 72 72 73,

 289 M Clemens (Mex) 69 75 76 69, A Wrigley (Eng) 71 75 72 71, C Corbin (am) (Eng) 76 71 70 72, A Cheese (Eng) 69 73 74 73, A Smith (Eng) 72 74 69 74,

 

DID NOT QUALIFY

290 J Byrne  (Sco) 77 75 66 72, C Kresge (USA) 75 69 73 73,

 291 P McLean (Sco) 77 73 72 69, M Murphy  (Irl) 76 72 69 74, A Wootton  (Eng) 68 71 78 74, J White (am) (Sco) 69 71 74 77,

 292 T Hunt (Wal) 72 78 71 71, J Henry (Sco) 75 73 73 71, J Gallagher (Sco) 73 75 72 72, O Curry (am) (Eng) 75 72 73 72,

 293 R O'Neill (Eng) 76 74 73 70, C Lutton (Sco) 73 72 75 73, S O'Hara  (Sco) 72 74 71 76, S Ronold (Nor) 74 69 74 76,

 294 A Smith (Eng) 74 77 72 71, P Cormack  (Sco) 77 71 74 72, T Higson (Sco) 77 73 71 73, J Bell (Eng) 73 70 78 73,

 295 M Staunton (Irl) 78 72 74 71, J Housby (Eng) 71 74 76 74, J Barnes (Eng) 76 71 73 75, P O'Keeffe  (Irl) 72 70 78 75, J Chevallier (Fra) 75 73 71 76, G Robertson (am) (Sco) 75 70 72 78,

 299 B Melton (USA) 75 71 76 77,

 300 J Hendry (Sco) 78 75 71 76,

 301 C Trahan (Sco) 77 71 70 83,

 302 O Franck (Swe) 78 71 70 83,

 306 C Eberl (USA) 77 73 74 82, 

MISSED THE CUT AFTER THREE ROUNDS

 225 D Sugrue (Irl) 78 76 71 0, D Seymour (Eng) 77 73 75 0,

 226 K Nicol (Sco) 77 75 74 0,

 227 S McAllister (Sco) 77 78 72 0, S Reed (USA) 75 73 79 0,

 228 C Sutherland (Sco) 81 74 73 0, I Griffiths (Wal) 80 74 74 0,

 229 B Herbert (Eng) 77 73 79 0,

 230 G Murphy (Irl) 81 73 76 0, R Phillips (Eng) 73 74 83 0,

 231 M Downes (Eng) 79 78 74 0, C Cole (Wal) 77 78 76 0,

 233 B St John (Sco) 80 76 77 0, R Crowe (Eng) 79 75 79 0,

 234 T Innes Ker (Sco) 85 70 79 0,

 235 J McGhee (Sco) 77 79 79 0, G Duncan (Sco) 77 78 80 0,

 236 A McCabe (Eng) 86 73 77 0, M Ramsdale (Eng) 80 78 78 0,

 240 B McDonough (USA) 77 79 84 0,

 152 D Spalding (Eng) 72 80 RT  0,

 154 B Askew (USA) 75 79 RT  0,

 156 A Hogan (Irl) 77 79 RT  0, A Palmer (Eng) 78 78 RT  0,

Final scores from Ebriechsdorf GC, Austria (par 72) – 23 players qualified on 281 (-7) and better

 

268 R Cazaubon (Mex) 67 65 69 67,

 271 S Wiedergrün (Ger) 73 68 64 66,

 272 R Goger (am) (Aut) 70 71 65 66,

 274 J Billing (Swe) 69 68 68 69,

 275 S Jeppesen  (Swe) 70 76 65 64, K Eriksson (Swe) 74 68 62 71,

 277 L Nemecz (Aut) 73 69 67 68, C Lange  (Den) 71 69 65 72,

 278 A Hansen  (Den) 68 68 71 71,

 279 G Schultes (Ger) 65 73 71 70, A Zemmer (Ita) 69 66 71 73, K Samooja (Fin) 68 69 67 75,

 280 R Han (Chn) 72 66 73 69, F Praegant (Aut) 70 69 71 70, M Schneider (Ger) 70 67 73 70, A Pavlov (Rus) 68 67 75 70, O Lieser (Cze) 72 66 71 71, C Dennis (USA) 71 68 68 73,

 281 K Ichihara (Jpn) 72 73 69 67, O Zetterwall (Swe) 70 73 69 69, M Veijalainen (Fin) 69 73 69 70, L Astl (Aut) 67 71 73 70, D Lokke (Den) 70 69 69 73

DID NOT QUALIFY

282 W Schauman  (Swe) 73 73 66 70, S Matus  (Cze) 71 70 69 72, F Gustavsson (Swe) 69 72 68 73,

 283 J White (Eng) 74 72 68 69, R Gruber (Aut) 72 73 69 69, J Agren (Swe) 74 71 68 70, M Azcue (Mex) 73 75 64 71, A Pazzeschi (Ita) 71 73 67 72, U Weinhandl (Aut) 68 70 72 73, J Scrivener (Aus) 70 69 68 76,

 284 J Maurer  (Aut) 72 72 69 71,

 285 M Wolf (am) (Ger) 70 71 72 72,

 286 M Hansen (Den) 71 74 71 70, H Amin  (Aut) 74 72 69 71, J Lupprian (Ger) 72 69 73 72,

 287 S Kannler (Ger) 74 73 70 70, J Quiros (Esp) 75 67 70 75, B Reiter (Aut) 75 69 67 76, A Engell  (Nor) 68 70 72 77,

 288 J Kim (Ita) 70 73 71 74, B Neumayer (Aut) 72 71 69 76, M Decott-Lafon (am) (Fra) 69 71 69 79,

 290 H Lipsanen (Fin) 67 76 71 76, S Pitoni (am) (Ita) 73 68 71 78,

 291 J Shepherd  (Eng) 71 71 73 76, M Novy  (Cze) 70 73 71 77,

 292 M Amtkjaer (Den) 75 71 70 76,

 293 M Cantero Balbas (Esp) 76 71 70 76, M Schachner (USA) 74 73 70 76,

 295 F Lagarto (Esp) 75 70 70 80,

 218 W Rieder  (Aut) 76 69 73 0, D Mogensen (Den) 72 70 76 0,

 219 G Kotnik (Aut) 72 74 73 0, M Prihoda (Cze) 71 74 74 0,

 220 S Wittmann (am) (Aut) 75 74 71 0, C Schwierz  (Ger) 77 71 72 0, J Steiner (Aut) 71 77 72 0, S Cronin (Eng) 75 71 74 0, K Svanum  (Nor) 72 72 76 0,

 221 M Mayrhauser  (Aut) 80 72 69 0, C Cannon (Eng) 76 73 72 0, N Thommen (Sui) 75 74 72 0, A Altuntas (am) (Tur) 73 76 72 0, S Fernandez (Arg) 75 72 74 0, S Whiffin (Eng) 74 73 74 0,

 222 N Lombardi (Ita) 79 73 70 0, J Orozco (Esp) 76 73 73 0, N Viuff (Den) 74 73 75 0,

 223 H Yamac (Tur) 79 73 71 0, T Toivo (Fin) 80 71 72 0, P Nic (Cze) 76 74 73 0, N Wimmer (am) (Aut) 71 77 75 0,

 224 R Hahn (Hun) 79 73 72 0, T Mou (USA) 74 77 73 0,

 225 F Pogatschnigg (Aut) 74 77 74 0, L Tupa (Cze) 76 74 75 0,

 226 M Eliasson (Swe) 78 76 72 0,

 229 F Mruzek (Cze) 83 73 73 0, A Leitmannstetter  (Ger) 73 79 77 0, A Funk (Can) 75 72 82 0,

 231 A Lange (Ger) 77 80 74 0, K Varli (am) (Tur) 78 76 77 0, P Oswald (am) (Aut) 74 80 77 0,

 232 M Carroll (USA) 80 75 77 0,

 234 A Werner (Den) 83 77 74 0,

 236 F Kök (am) (Tur) 85 78 73 0, D Suchan (am) (Cze) 83 75 78 0,

 240 D Clarkson (Eng) 80 76 84 0,

 244 N Engel (Den) 82 83 79 0,

 261 G Steel (Eng) 89 88 84 0,

 

 

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SPANIARDS SHARE LEAD IN KLM OPEN

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Friends and fellow Spaniards Miguel Angel Jiménez and Pablo Larrazábal will take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the KLM Open, where they will hope to follow in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros and Jose María Olazábal by winning at Kennemer Golf and Country Club.

Jiménez and Larrazábal, who are separated by some 19 years but share a similar sense of humour and love of life, often play practice rounds together, but will go head to head in a more competitive environment over the weekend in the seaside resort of Zandvoort.

Ballesteros’ first European Tour title came at Kennemer G&CC, in the 1976 KLM Open, and it was also the scene of Olazábal’s dramatic victory 13 years later, when the Spaniard eventually prevailed after a nine-hole play-off played in treacherous conditions.     

Both Jiménez and Larrázabal will bid to mimic their illustrious compatriots after taking their tallies to nine under par with respective rounds of 66 and 67.
The duo might have opened up a sizeable lead on the chasing pack had they not endured frustrating days on the greens, with Larrazábal in particular bemoaning his putting performance.
He said: “I’m hitting the ball as well as ever. I missed a lot of putts, especially on the back nine, but they didn’t drop. The conditions were tough this afternoon, it was raining non-stop, so to shoot a 66 was very pleasing.
“From tee to green, I couldn’t have played any better – I only missed two shots all day. To make only two bogeys in two days is very pleasing, especially in those conditions, but to win this tournament I’m going to have to putt a lot better than I did today.”
Jiménez also pointed to a cold putter for his failure to match his opening round of 64, but the 49 year old was nonetheless content to see his name at the top of the leaderboard.
He said: “I played OK on my front nine, quite solid. But on my back nine I played very well, made a lot of good birdie chances and should have taken a few more. If my putter was working well I could have easily shot six under par again. But I have to be happy with three birdies and no bogeys, and my position on the leaderboard.”
Second place is currently shared by the English duo of Simon Dyson (63) and Oliver Fisher (65) and Frenchman Julien Quesne (65), who all climbed to eight under par.
Dyson is aiming to claim a record fourth KLM Open title, whilst Fisher – celebrating his 25^th birthday – is in need of a big week as he bids to retain his playing privileges on The European Tour.

 

HALFWAY TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
 

131 P Larrazábal (Esp) 65 66, M Jiménez (Esp) 64 67,

 132 O Fisher  (Eng) 67 65, J Quesne  (Fra) 67 65, S Dyson  (Eng) 69 63,

 133 D Drysdale (Sco) 69 64,

 134 J Campillo (Esp) 71 63, A Snobeck  (Fra) 68 66, J Luiten (Ned) 69 65, M Nixon (Eng) 69 65,

 135 D McGrane (Irl) 65 70, P McGinley (Irl) 68 67, S Wakefield (Eng) 68 67, M Jonzon (Swe) 70 65, G Orr (Sco) 65 70, E Kofstad (Nor) 69 66, D Howell (Eng) 65 70, H Otto (RSA) 68 67, S Kjeldsen (Den) 68 67,

 136 R Allenby (Aus) 65 71, C Paisley  (Eng) 68 68, R Green (Aus) 70 66, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 69 67, A Marshall (Eng) 69 67, B Koepka  (USA) 70 66, T Aiken (RSA) 72 64, A Quiros  (Esp) 72 64,

 137 J Olazábal (Esp) 69 68, P Hedblom (Swe) 71 66, G Havret  (Fra) 67 70, A Cañizares  (Esp) 69 68, D Horsey (Eng) 71 66, S Lowry  (Irl) 69 68, F Aguilar (Chi) 69 68, M Carlsson  (Swe) 68 69, R Fisher (Eng) 69 68, W Ashun (Chn) 69 68, S Jamieson  (Sco) 69 68, R Karlberg  (Swe) 70 67, M Ilonen  (Fin) 71 66, P Meesawat  (Tha) 67 70,

 138 M Manassero (Ita) 70 68, D Fichardt (RSA) 70 68, R Finch  (Eng) 69 69, L Jensen (Den) 72 66, J Jin (Kor) 67 71, M Fraser (Aus) 67 71, S Henry  (Sco) 69 69, T Pieters  (Bel) 68 70, A Levy (Fra) 73 65, M Foster (Eng) 68 70, F Zanotti (Par) 65 73, R Ramsay  (Sco) 70 68, W Besseling  (Ned) 67 71, J Lagergren (Swe) 73 65, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 67, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 70 68, R Bland (Eng) 67 71, S Thornton (Irl) 70 68, B Åkesson (Swe) 71 67, R Rock (Eng) 69 69, P Waring  (Eng) 70 68, E Grillo (Arg) 72 66, C Lloyd (Eng) 69 69, R Caron (am) (Ned) 73 65

MISSED THE CUT
 

 139 D Higgins (Irl) 72 67, K Phelan (Irl) 71 68, P Casey  (Eng) 68 71, M Delpodio  (Ita) 68 71, M Baldwin (Eng) 69 70, R Santos  (Por) 70 69, A Tadini (Ita) 72 67, O Floren  (Swe) 66 73, L Gagli  (Ita) 70 69, S Benson (Eng) 69 70, R Coles (Eng) 69 70, C Cévaër (Fra) 70 69, E De La Riva  (Esp) 68 71,

 140 R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 71, S Little (Eng) 72 68, T Lewis (Eng) 67 73, J Kruger (RSA) 69 71, R Derksen (Ned) 70 70, C Wood  (Eng) 72 68, R Kind (Ned) 69 71, S Chowrasia (Ind) 71 69, P Harrington (Irl) 71 69, J Gonnet  (Fra) 71 69, P Lawrie (Irl) 71 69, M Lafeber (Ned) 70 70, E Pepperell (Eng) 71 69, D Foos (am) (Ger) 72 68,

 141 J Morrison  (Eng) 70 71, C Lee (Sco) 69 72, L Slattery (Eng) 75 66, J Parry (Eng) 70 71, M Southgate  (Eng) 73 68, A Hartø  (Den) 71 70, A Kaleka  (Fra) 70 71, J Walters (RSA) 70 71, J Edfors (Swe) 71 70, J Singh (Ind) 71 70, R Wattel  (Fra) 70 71, J Hansen  (Den) 69 72,

 142 M Warren (Sco) 73 69, M Lampert (Ger) 73 69, P Whiteford (Sco) 74 68, R McEvoy  (Eng) 72 70, T Levet (Fra) 71 71, M Tullo (Chi) 71 71, A Hansen (Den) 71 71, I Van Weerelt (Ned) 75 67, F De Haas (Ned) 72 70, T Van Der Walt (RSA) 72 70, S Khan (Eng) 67 75, K Broberg (Swe) 72 70,

 143 A Wall (Eng) 70 73, L Wen-Chong (Chn) 73 70, G Maybin (Nir) 72 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 74 69, N Fasth (Swe) 72 71, J Kingston (RSA) 70 73, M Lundberg (Swe) 71 72, P Price (Wal) 73 70, I Garrido (Esp) 70 73, P Erofejeff (Fin) 71 72,

 144 J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 72 72, S Hansen (Den) 73 71, J Van Zyl (RSA) 71 73, G Mulroy (RSA) 72 72, M Madsen  (Den) 73 71, R Kind (Ned) 69 75, D Van Den Dungen (am) (Ned) 72 72, L Van Meijel (am) (Ned) 73 71, R Van West (am) (Ned) 76 68,

 145 J Sjöholm (Swe) 72 73, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 73 72, K Horne (RSA) 72 73, M Wiegele  (Aut) 72 73,

 146 G Boyd  (Eng) 74 72, D Willett  (Eng) 69 77, A Dodt (Aus) 72 74,

 147 T Olesen (Den) 73 74, G Storm  (Eng) 73 74, S Strüver (Ger) 74 73, M Kieffer (Ger) 75 72,

 148 C Doak (Sco) 76 72, E Goya (Arg) 77 71, M Kraaij (am) (Ned) 75 73,

 150 C Macaulay  (Sco) 77 73,

 154 N Nube (Ned) 82 72,

 156 X Ruiz Fonhof  (Ned) 79 77,

 158 K Berger (Ger) 83 75,

 ** M Campbell (Nzl) 73 WD, J Lara (Esp) 71 RT, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 73 WD,

  

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HENDERSON WINS CHARITY PRO-AM AT GLENEAGLES

Scott Henderson won the Friends of the Beatson Charity pro-am's top prize of £700 at the Gleneagles Centenary Course today ()Friday).
The King's Links tour pro shnot a four-under-par round of 68 to win by two strokes from joint runners-up Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) and Derek Watters (Gourock) who each earned £425.
Every other finisher received £200 with Paul Lawrie, Alan Reid (West Lothian) and Chris Kelly (Cawder) sharing fourth place on 71.


LEADING PRO SCORES
Par 72
68 Scott Henderson (Kings Links) £700.
70 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar), Derek Watters (Gourock) £425 each
71 Paul Lawrie, Chris Kelly (Cawder), Alan Reid (West Lothian) (£200 each).
72 David Orr (Mearns Castle) £200 each.
73 Mark Loftus (Mearns Castle), Mark Kerr (Marriott Dalmahoy), Heather MacRae (Gleneagles) £200 each
74 Stephen Craig (Germany), Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills), Christopher Currie (Caldwell) £200 each)
75 Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle), Graeme Brown (Montrose Links) £200 each)
77 Paul Jamieson (Pitreavie) £200.
78 Nigel Scott-Smith (Palacerigg), Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf) £200 each
81 Grant Smith (Gleneagles), Vincent Brown (Palacerigg) £200 each
82 Keith Baxter (Buchanan Castle), Derek Crawford (unatt) £200 each
83 James Brooker (West Malling) £200
85 Ian Darroch (West Kilbride).

ends

JAMES ROSS NAMED 2013 SCOTTISH AMATEUR GOLF OF THE YEAR

Royal Burgess’ James Ross, picture above by courtesy of the SGU,  has joined an elite group after winning the 2013 Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year award, thanks to finishing as the leading Scot on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

 

While Matthew Fitzpatrick and Lydia Ko won the Mark H McCormack Medals as the leading men’s and women’s amateur players on the 2013 WAGR, Ross has claimed the Scottish equivalent as at last Friday’s cut-off date.

 

Thanks to a string of fine displays in leading British and European events during the season, the US-based 23-year-old has edged out the likes of 2013 SGU Men’s Order of Merit champion Jack McDonald, a three-time domestic winner this season.

 

With Ross flourishing at European level – notably joint-winner of the individual stroke play at the European Amateur Team Championship en route to Scotland’s runner-up placing  and finishing just outside the top-10 at the European Individual – he accumulated sizeable WAGR points to win a close-run race. 

 

Ross, McDonald, Graeme Robertson, Grant Forrest and Bradley Neil all featured inside the top 100 of the WAGR at various points during the year, but former Boys international and 2011 Scottish Amateur semi-finalist Ross was top Scot at the finish (97^th on WAGR).

 

He joins a Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year roll on honour that features the likes of Andrew Coltart, Dean Robertson, Steven O’Hara, Richie Ramsay, Callum Macaulay, James Byrne, Michael Stewart and last year’s winner, McDonald.

 

Robertson (Glenbervie) and Forrest (Craigielaw) came second and third behind Ross, with Kilmarnock Barassie’s McDonald and Neil of Blairgowrie fourth and fifth respectively.

 

Having shone at the Lytham Trophy to just miss out on a top-20 place, Ross went on to finish third at the Welsh Stroke play, ninth at the Carrick Neill Scottish Stroke Play and 12^th at the St Andrews Links Trophy.

 

Ross then highlighted his season to finish joint-winner in qualifying at the European Amateur Team Championship in Denmark – one of only two players under par – before playing a pivotal role on his debut in Scotland’s run to the final where they narrowly lost to England.

 

The Lothians man was then top Scot in 11^th place at the European Individual in Spain to further underline his ability in elite company, before finishing the season by earning another Scotland team cap in the Home Internationals at Ganton.

 

Ross, now in his final year at the University of Houston, said: “To win this award is a great accolade and definitely caps off my year.

 

“I had a good year, particularly the most competitive summer I’ve had. I played well in big European events, like the European Individual, and jumped up the rankings on the back of that.

 

“Coming close in Wales kind of set me up for the year. I had a chance to win there, but ended up third to Rhys Pugh and Garrick Porteous, who both went on to play in the Walker Cup.

 

“I was also very proud to play for Scotland, it was a big achievement to do that, as I’ve always wanted to play for my country.

 

“It was fairly close on the WAGR, we’ve all been ahead at some point. Graeme had a good mid-summer and was in contention for the Walker Cup, as was Grant, who also played in The Open.

 

“Jack has done very well domestically, with back-to-back wins to end the season. Bradley also won the Scottish Boys. Everyone has had their highlights; everyone has done well in patches.”

 

Ross, who also finished fourth at the East of Scotland Championship but found his domestic appearances restricted due to his US schedule, believes the future of Scottish amateur golf is strong with a clutch of young players developing.

 

He added: “I think the future is looking pretty bright, we’ve got a good group of young guys coming through and there was a good buzz about the team this summer, a real competitive spirit.

 

“Personally, it’s been exciting. I’ve developed the last four years over in college. A lot of guys come over here and kind of plateau, or almost get worse, but I’ve definitely improved.

 

“I’ll work with my swing coach, Kevin Kirk, again over the winter and look to hit the ground running in 2014.”

OLIVER FARR WINS EUROPRO TOUR EVENT AT MONTROSE

NEWS RELEASE

Oliver Farr won the Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters, beating Daniel Gavins on the third play-off hole in the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event at Montrose Golf Links.

Farr claimed the £10,000 winner’s prize and a brand new Motocaddy trolley, despite finishing his final round with a bogey on the 16^th and a double on the 17^th, squandering a three-stroke lead to find himself in the playoff.

He signed for final round 71, level par, to finish the tournament five under. Gavins shot a 68 (-3) on the final day to tie for the lead and earn his place in the sudden death play-off.

Both players parred the first two plays of 18 but Gavins hit his approach shot onto the road behind the 18^th green on the 57^th hole, and had taken five strokes when Farr putted for par to win the competition.

The 25 year old moves to third on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit, and Gavins’ £5,000 runners-up prize takes him to second after winning at Dale Hill last month. It means that with two events to play both players are strongly-placed to finish the season in the top five, an achievement rewarded with a 2014 Challenge Tour Card.

“It was very much a rollercoaster,” said Farr. “I got to eight under and felt pretty comfortable but it was quite a tough finish with the wind coming into us and I hit a couple of bad shots.

“Coming down 18 you have to look at it in the way you don’t want to and that is that you could lose it. I focussed on making par and getting in the play off, because I knew I wasn’t in a great frame of mind going into the last hole. I recovered well and had a good two-putt.

Earlier in the season Farr finished tied second at Rowallan Castle, losing out to Mark Laskey in a play-off.

“It was good that I was in a play-off at Rowallan Castle,” said Farr. “It meant that I was familiar with it. You have to play some good shots on 18 here and the pin was in a really tight place, so I was happy to make three pars really.

“I have been fortunate to play seven Challenge Tour events this year and you get a taste for it, you know what level you need to be at. You have to win on the EuroPro to have a chance of getting your card and it was nice to win today and hopefully now I can get to the Challenge Tour for next year, but we have a couple of events left yet.”

James Robinson (Southport & Ainsdale) and James Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City Golf Club) shared third place on four under par.

The next event takes place at Moor Allerton Golf Club in Leeds, beginning on Wednesday, September 25. The final round of the Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters was filmed for a two-hour highlights show to be broadcast four times on Sky Sports HD on September 25.

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NE ALLIANCE CORRECTION: J0HN DUFF JOINT WINNER WITH A 69

North-east Alliance officials have corrected a mistake in their calculations for the competition held at Kemnay Golf Club this past Wednesday.
John Duff (Newmachar) had a 69, not a 70 as was originally published.
That makes John the joint winner with Craig Lawrie of the scratch section.