Wright beats O'Hara in play-off to take
second Scottish title in three years
PGA NEWS RELEASE
From Nathaniel Sylvester
From Nathaniel Sylvester
Welshman Gareth
Wright is the Scottish PGA champion for the second time in three years
after winning the event's 100th staging in style at Gleneagles total.
The 34-year-old West
Linton professional eagled the par-5 18th on the King's Course from six
feet to beat Paul O'Hara in a play-off after the pair had tied on
16-under-par in the £50,000 M and H Logistics-sponsored event.
With closing 68s for 16-under-par 268
totals, Wright and O'Hara finished five shots clear of the field at the Perthshire venue, where Louis Gaughan birdied the last to tie for third place
with Greig Hutcheon and Graham Fox after they'd both signed off with
stirring 65s.
The victory in the
Tartan Tour's flagship tournament earned Wright a £9,000 pay day while,
in addition to a runners-up cheque for £6,500, O'Hara secured a place in
next week's PGA Play-Offs in Devon along with Hutcheon and Fox.
Locked together at the
start of the day, Wright and O'Hara fought out an enthralling ding-dong
battle in the final round and came to the 72nd hole still sharing the
lead.
It was advantage Wright
after the pair had hit their approaches but 30-year-old O'Hara, who is
based at Lochview Golf Centre in Coatbridge through an attachment to
North Lanarkshire Leisure, got down in two putts from fully 120 feet to
make a birdie, which his title rival matched.
"I expected Paul to
make his six-footer as he'd putted well all day and is very good around
the greens," admitted Wright afterwards.
Returning to the same
hole for the play-off, O'Hara was a lot closer in two and made birdie
once more despite racing his first putt six feet past, but Wright had
hit a majestic 6-iron from 201 yards to six feet and rolled it in for a
title-winning eagle.
"We both played really
good golf all day," said the champion, who plays under the Welsh flag
but lives in Edinburgh. "We didn't set the world on fire, but it was
good, sensible golf and a good game between us.
"It's been a very
strange year for me as I've been playing my golf in lots of different
places. In fact, I've probably only played in four or five Tartan Tour
events.
"But this is a nice
cherry on top of the cake at the end of the year and I love it up here -
Gleneagles is one of my favourite places in the world."
O'Hara, winner of both
the P and H Championship and Scottish Young Professionals Championship
earlier in the year, refused to be downbeat about being pipped for the
top prize on this occasion.
"I've played solid over
the four days and I'm pleased with my performance as I needed a good
week to get into the PGA Play-Offs," he said, having secured a trip to
Saunton by finishing in the top three in the "Road to Gleneagles".
Helped by his strong
finish, Hutcheon claimed that Order of Merit title by a narrow margin
from O'Hara, who'd already secured the Scottish Young Professionals'
equivalent this season, and Fox in third place.
The trio now head to
Devon, where the PGA Play-Offs start on Monday, with 10 spots up for
grabs in next year's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth as well as three
automatic places in the team that will defend the PGA Cup at Foxhills in
Surrey next September.
Image of Gareth Wright courtesy of Kenny Smith
Labels: Tartan Tour
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