PGA Play-offs

Hutcheon's purple patch earns him PGA Cup 

place, big tourney invites and £1,100

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Greig Hutcheon produced a brilliant birdie-birdie-eagle burst on the inward half of a closing round of four-under 67 and then won a play-off to earn  selection for the next GB and I PGA Cup match plus invites to next year's PGA Championship and British Masters by finishing third in the PGA Play-offs over Saunton Golf Club's East Course in Devon.
The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Inchmarlo player, twice a winner of the tournament, also earned £1,100 for a total of five-under-par 279 (71-69-72-67).
He finished two shots behind the £2,000 winner Matt Cort (69-69-68-71 for 277) and one behind another Englishman, Robert Coles (76-65-70-67 for 278).
Hutcheon tied with Damien McGrane (70-70-73-66)  on the 279 mark and then beat the Irishman in a play-off with a birdie at the first extra hole to claim the last of the three guaranteed places in the PGA Cup team.  

Hutcheon said: “I was pleased to have a good score at the finish because I have squandered a lot of shots out there this week. 

“It hasn’t been a great scoring week, but I have battled hard.” 

Despite finishing with a sensational 66, McGrane said it could have been lower still. 

He said “I felt like I could have been nine under.  But to come here for four days and only have one decent score is disappointing. 

“The other three days I wasn’t at the races.” 

The consolation for McGrane is that his finish earns a trip to play in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next year as did Neil O’Briain (Old Conna), Phil Archer (Birchwood), Chris Gane (Left Handed Golf at Silvermere), Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf), Paul Streeter (Lincoln Golf Centre) and Paul Hendriksen (Ivybridge).

Fox, the leading Scot overnight, dropped out of second place with a closing 74 for 283 which placed him joint seventh and earned him £625.
Anglo-Scot Ian Campbell (Cheshunt Park) earned £450 for a 13th place finish on 285 and Paul O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) had rounds of 76, 70, 75 and 71 for 292 and joint 19th place. He earned £321.

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PGA PLAY-OFFS
Saunton Golf Club East Course, Devon
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 284 (4x71)
277 M Cort (Eng) 69 69 68 71 (£2,000)
278 R Coles (Eng) 76 65 70 67 (£1,500)
279 G Hutcheon (Sco) 71 69 72 67 (£1,100)
+Hutcheon beat McGrane in a play-off for the third spot
in the GB and I PGA Cup match team.
279 D McGrane (Ire) 70 70 73 66 (£1,100).

OTHER SCOTS' TOTALS
283 G Fox 73 68 68 74 (T7) (£625)
285 I Campbell 74 69 71 71 (13th) (£450)
292 P O'Hara 76 70 75 71 (T19) (£321). 

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

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MATT HOLDS CORT TO WIN PGA PLAY-OFFS AT SAUNTON

 

PGA NEWS RELEASE

Matt Cort pulled off a sensational PGA Play-Offs victory to cap an emphatic season of success. 

And it was third time lucky for the Beedles Lake pro who admitted: “I am thrilled. I have had a couple of seconds in this event so it’s fantastic to finally win it. 

“This caps off a great season. It is great to finish it number one.” 

But he was pushed all the way to the title by a trio of players as the final round came alive around the East Course links at Saunton. 

And the Midland Region Order of Merit Champion’s comfortable three-shot overnight lead came under relentless attack. 

Robert Coles, Damien McGrane and Greig Hutcheon were hot on Cort’s tail. 
McGrane and Coles produced sparkling first nines to tighten the screw – McGrane firing a five-under 31 and Maylands pro Coles 32. 

But as McGrane’s putter cooled after the turn, Coles was relentless and stood on the 16th tee three shots clear of Cort on eight-under after reeling off seven birdies and just one bogey over 15 holes. 

He said: “I was going well, had a good start and I was playing really nicely.” 

Cort meanwhile had slipped back to five over after dropping successive shots at the 11th and 12th, admitting: “I was watching the other two and I did not start that well. 

“The round got away from me a little bit although I held on.”

But the event hinged on three holes – 15 through 17 – when Cort tightened his grip on the trophy and Coles saw his challenge slip away. 

Cort fired in a sensational eagle at 15 to pull himself back to -7 as Coles hit trouble with bogies at 16 and 17.
Coles said: “It was under control and then a couple of holes at the end caught me out.

“I got the tee shot wrong at 16 and ran out into a bunker and had to chip out. Then at 17 I had to stand in a bunker for ball out of the bunker. 

“I looked at the board and saw I needed to make par at the last – so I was pleased I did.” 

The eagle at 15 meant Cort could par the last three for a level par 71 and one shot victory. 

And he revealed dropping behind actually helped him discover his best golf over the closing holes.

He said: “When I bogied 11 and 12 and saw that Rob and Damien were having good days, that probably put me in a good position because then I was playing catch up a little bit. 

“You have to change the way you play. You cannot play defensive anymore because you haven’t got the lead. 

“After 12, I played really good.” 

The pendulum swung in Cort’s favour on the par 5 15th which, due to the wind direction, was reachable in two.
Cort added: “That was key for me. I hit a four iron on the back of a two tier green and got it to between 12 and 15 feet and holed it.
“By the time I got to the 17th, I knew it was between me and 'Colesy.' It was pretty tight over the last few holes.”
As well as the £2,000 winner’s cheque, Cort has secured automatic places in next season’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the British Masters.
He will also play in the PGA Cup side along with Coles and Hutcheon.

Victory is the high point in a season which also saw him top the PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit – which guaranteed him his Challenge Tour card. 

“Scoring and ball striking-wise – this has been one of the most consistent years of my career. 

“That gives me confidence to go on for next year.”

After a few rare days off to see wife Leanne and son Charlie, 3, Cort will fly out for the second stage of European Tour qualifying in Spain. 

“I have had two nights at home in three weeks,” he revealed. “So I am missing my family.

“But with the form I am in right now, I have to go over there and have a go.” 

Paul Lawrie Golf Centre pro Hutcheon followed up his final round 67 by snatching the last PGA Cup place from McGrane with a birdie on the first play-off hole decider. 

Hutcheon said: “I was pleased to have a good score at the finish because I have squandered a lot of shots out there this week. 

“It hasn’t been a great scoring week, but I have battled hard.” 

Despite finishing with a sensational 66, McGrane said it could have been lower still. 

He said “I felt like I could have been nine under.  But to come here for four days and only have one decent score is disappointing. 

“The other three days I wasn’t at the races.” 

The consolation for McGrane is that his finish earns a trip to play in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next year as did Neil O’Briain (Old Conna), Phil Archer (Birchwood), Chris Gane (Left Handed Golf at Silvermere), Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf), Paul Streeter (Lincoln Golf Centre) and Paul Hendriksen (Ivybridge).

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Pos    Scores                   Name                  Represents

1       69, 69, 68, 71 (-7)     277  Matt Cort             Beedles Lake
2       76, 65, 70, 67  (-6)    278 Robert Coles         Maylands G&CC

3       71, 69, 72, 67 (-5)     279 Greig Hutcheon    Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Inchmarlo

4       70, 70, 73, 66  (-5)    279 Damien McGrane   Ireland

5       70, 70, 73, 68  (-3     281 Neil O’Briain         Old Conna

6       73, 70, 69, 69  (-3)    281 Phil Archer           Birchwood

7       76, 67, 73, 67  (-1)    283 Chris Gane           Left Handed Golf at Silvermere

8       73, 68, 68, 74  (-1)    283 Graham Fox         Clydeway Golf

9       69, 68, 73, 73  (-1)    283 Paul Streeter        Lincoln Golf Centre

10     75, 68, 73, 67 (-1)     283 Paul Hendriksen   Ivybridge