MACAULAY PUTS IN A GRAND 

PERFORMANCE AT MORPETH

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Calum Macaulay (Tulliallan) headed the five Scots who finished in the top 20 of the PGA EuroPro Tour event at Longhirst Hall, Morpeth in Northumberland.

Macaulay, pictured, had rounds of 72, 71 and 71 for a total of 214 and a tied ninth place which earned him £1,050.

Lloyd Saltman (Archerfield Links) and Conor O'Neil (Mearns Castle) tied for 12th place on 216 and earned £725 apiece. Saltman had rounds of 78, 67 and 71, O'Neil 70, 73 and 73.

Fraser Moore (Glenbervie) and Fraser McKenna (Balmore) earned £503 each for a joint 16th finish on 217. Moore shot 71, 75 and 71; McKenna 73, 72 and 72.

Ryan Campbell (Falkirk) finished joint 29th on 219 with rounds of 73, 70 and 76. He earned £398.

Kris Nicol (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre), last of the seven Scots to qualify for the final day, had a disastrous third round of 79 which included two double bogeys and no birdies. His earlier rounds were 73 and 71. He totalled 223 and tied for 46th place, earning only £317.

Englishman Matthew Cort (Beedles Lake) was the winner of the £10,000 first prize with scores of 73, 65 and 70 for eight-under 208.

PGA EUROPRO TOUR

Longhirst Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 216 (3x72)

208 M Cort (Eng) 73 65 70 £10,000

210 G Payne (Eng) 70 68 72 £6,000.

SCOTS' TOTALS

214 C Macaulay 72 71 71 (T9) £1,050

216 L Saltman 78 67 71, C O'Neil 70 73 73 (T12). £725 each

217 F Moore 71 75 71, F McKenna 72 73 73 (T16). £503 each

219 R Campbell 73 70 76 (T29) £398

223 K Nicol (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) 73 71 79  (T46) £317.

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 Cort wins £10,000 prize with 208 (8 under)
 
 By NICK TEALE

Matthew Cort won the Dawson and Sanderson Classic by two shots at Longhirst Hall Golf Club, seeing off the challenge of Greg Payne with a final round 70 for an eight-under aggregate of 208 to take the title.

Cort and Payne began the final round sharing the six under par lead, but Cort (Beedles Lake Golf Club) went two clear when he birdied the 6^th with Payne (Chobham GC) having bogeyed the 2^nd.

The Leicester man moved three clear of Payne when he birdied the 13^th but Christopher Evans (Wishaw Golf Club) had done the same in the match ahead and after going one under on the front nine was now just two back himself. 

Payne maintained the pressure on Cort with a birdie at the 15^th but the pair were still separated by two shots when Cort parred the last, knowing Evans’ challenge had come to an end with a bogey on the 17^th.

Cort’s Dawson Course record second round 65, seven under par, had seen him start the final 18 at six under and a final round two under par saw him win the tournament with an aggregate score of 208. Payne took second on six under while Evans shared third on five under with Jason Timmis (Newcastle-under-Lyme Golf Club) and Joe Dean (Hillsborough Golf Club).

“It was a little bit tense out there, especially with Greg finishing off well,” said Cort, who takes home £10,000, a brand new Motocaddy S1 Lithium trolley, Bushnell Tour X Range Finder and Bolle sunglasses.

“It is a great feeling to win. I chipped and putted when I needed to and that kept me in it. Every green I missed I got up and down and that was the key thing for me.

“Every chip shot got pretty close, especially coming down the last few. Getting the chips within a few feet took the stress out.

“I came in not really knowing the course and didn’t have a practice round. I trusted the yardage book and played the course. It is a nice course and fortunately we only had one bad day with the weather.

“I wasn’t planning to play a full EuroPro schedule but that might change now. I will go home and have a think about that, but you might see me out here a bit more now.”

Cort’s win takes him to second on the Race To Desert Springs, from which the top five at the end of the season progress to the Challenge Tour for 2017. With two second-placed finishes in the first four events, Payne now leads the rankings.

The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour continues with the Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters at Montrose Links next Tuesday-Thursday, July 5-7.

Highlights of the Dawson and Sanderson Classic will air on Sky Sports on Tuesday, July 12.