ANYBODY HERE SEEN KELLY? WINS NORTHERN OPEN

BY FIVE AFTER SEVEN-BIRDIE OUTWARD HALF

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Gleneagles Scottish professional champion Chris Kelly won another major on the Tartan Tour with a brilliant last round of five-under-par 65 (30-35) paving the way for a 13-under-par total of 267 for a Northern Open triumph by five strokes from Gareth Wright (West Linton) at Cruden Bay today (Friday).
And so a 72-hole tournament that had logjammed leaderboards for the first 36 holes finished up as a procession in Kelly's wake .... the stragglers were so far behind they might well have been asking "Anybody here seen Kelly?"
After three rounds it looked a straight fight between Kelly and Wright for the prestigious title and the £4,250 first prize but actually Chri's birdie blitz on the front nine blew away any challenge from the London-born Welshman who finished runner-up in last week's PGA professional championship.
Kelly's outward half had a "believe it or not" touch about it.
He birdied the first, bogeyed the second and then birdi the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth ... only one par in six-under-par 30 to the turn.
It was a case of after the Lord Mayor's Show for the second nine. Kelly did birdied the 12th - his eighth of the round - but after a string of pars he subsided to a double bogey 6 at the 18th for 35 home and a 65.
Wright did his best to keep up with his playing partner, birdieing the first, sixth and eighth but a bogey at the nine put him out in 34 - and he had slipped four shots behind Kelly. Wright too knew he was beaten and he bogeyed the 14th and 15th almost as a public acceptance of the situation.
He finished five behind with a par 70 for eight-under 272 - a total that would have won many Northerm Opens down through the years. Wright earned £3,000 and deserved it.
Third placed Craig Ronald (Carluke) finished with a 71 for 277, five shots behind Wright. Craig earned £2,200
Moray amateur Kyle Godsman won the Bookless Cup as the leading amateur in joint eighth place overall, a splendid performance by the Hopeman man who spent four years on the US college golf circuit.
Godsman totalled 281 and finished four strokes ahead of the amateur runner-up, home course man John Godward  who signed off with a 70 for 285.

+The last man to completed the Scottish professional championship-Northern Open title double was Carnoustie's Fraser Mann in 2002.

NORTHERN OPEN
Cruden Bay GC
FOURTH-ROUND TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
267 C Kelly (unatt) 69 66 67 65 (£4.250)
272 G Wright (West Linton) 68 67 67 70 (£3,000)
277 C Ronald (Carluke) 70 70 66 71 (£2,200)
278 G Hutcheon (Paul Lawrie GC) 69 69 70 70 (£1,800)
279 S Henderson (Kings Links) 68 71 68 72 (£1,500)
280 P Shields (Kirkhill) 68 70 73 69, C Currie (Caldwell) 70 65 73 72 (£1.225 each)
281 K Godsman (Moray) (am) 68 72 70 71,  Michael Patterson (Kilmacolm) 71 68 68 74
282 M Isaacs (Gamola Golf) 76 68 70 68, P Robinson (Largs) 68 69 75 70, R Arnott (Bishopbriggs) 69 71 67 75
283 A Welsh (Cathkin Braes) 74 70 71 68, M Hillson (Tandridge) 70 78 67 68, D Orr (Eastwood) 71 66 73 73
284 G Brown (Montrose Links) 76 69 69 70, P Wardell (North Berwick) 70 71 71 72, G Fox (Clydeway Golf) 69 69 71 75
285 J McGhee (Bishopbriggs) 74 70 71 70
286 S Gray (Hayston) 75 67 74 70, C Sutherland (Cherry Lodge) 72 74 70 70, D Watson (Cruden Bay) (am) 74 72 70 70, A Cooper (Newmachar) 73 73 66 74, N Fenwick (Dunbar) 73 69 68 76
288 K McNicoll (Gullane) 71 77 71 69, S Binning (Mearns Castle) 71 74 69 74, P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 76 68 70 74, J McCreadie (Largs) 74 68 72 74, G McBain (Paul Lawrie GC) 70 72 71 75,  P O'Hara (Clydeway Golf) 71 71 69 77
289 C Marr (Musselburgh) 72 71 73 73
290  P Walker (Balumbie Castle) 76 71 70 73
291  C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 70 77 71 73, G Paxton (Ralston) 69 75 72 75
292 R Buckley (Royal Musselburgh) 78 70 72 72, R Dixon (Renaissance) 71 71 77 73,  G Hardy (Ayr Belleisle) 73 73 68 76
293 M Kerr (Marriott Dalmahoy) 71 77 73 72, Murray Patterson (Cruden Bay) 73 72 70 78
294 S Savage (Dalmuir) 75 73 74 72
295 S Roger (Cruden Bay) (am) 76 71 72 76
296 G Smith (Abu Dhabi) 75 72 76 73, Heather MacRae (Gleneagles) 78 69 75 74
298 F Fotheringham (Nairn) (am) 79 69 76 74, C Everett (Caldwell) 76 71 76 75
299 J Sharp (Carrick on Loch Lomond) 74 73 78 74
293 C Gordon (Edinburgh GC) 77 71 77 68
300 A Holbrook (Murcar Links) (am) 74 74 77 75
302 R Tinker (Piperdam) 73 71 79 79
306 C Goodwin (Duff House Royal) 72 76 74 84

Withdrew: M Christie (Cruden Bay) (am) 73 72 71