Reed Wins Europro at Fota Island

Paul Reed wins Fota [Diane Cusack]

Paul Reed admitted he was stunned to have won his first ever PGA EuroPro Tour event – only two years after contemplating quitting golf.

Reed (Bristol and Clifton) clinched the Audi Cork Irish Masters at The Fota Island Resort in Cork, Ireland as he finished two shots ahead of South African Darryn Lloyd.

The victory gives Reed the £10,000 top prize, although it was something he could not have forecasted at the start of the week.

“I played a practice round on Monday and sent a text message to my family saying ‘don’t bet on me’ as I didn’t think I hit it long enough for this course,” admitted Reed.

"That might’ve helped as I’ve gone out there with no expectations and thought if I played well then maybe I could get a top 20 place but my short game has just been unbelievable.

“I’ve played tournaments where I’ve hit the ball better but the short game has been the best ever. It just seemed to work all week and I got up and down when I needed to. I’ve led a couple of times and totally messed them up but it feels really special to win this one.

“I made an effort to not look at the leaderboard and I just tried to play my normal game. It wasn’t until I was on the 18th when I asked our scorer to radio in and find out where I was and I found out I was ahead. When it sinks in I hope this victory will give me a massive boost to my confidence.”

Reed started Friday’s play with a one-shot lead and began his final round brightly with birdies at the second and fourth. A bogey at the fifth followed but he got back on track with birdies at the 13th, 14th and 16th.

Lloyd had already finished on -9 and a bogey at the 17th from Reed made it close but Reed made a birdie at the 18th to end on -11 and win by two shots to justify his decision to continue playing golf.

“I had always wanted to be a golf professional but it was just not going anywhere and I was pretty close to giving up about two years ago,” added Reed. “I had a lot of injuries as well and that has not made it easy.

“I have switched coaches and it’s given me a new lease of life. I always felt I was capable of winning but Simon Hurley has transformed my game and made me more steady.

“I’m not the type of person to feel sorry for myself and I just decided to give it 100 per cent and hopefully this is the start of reaping the rewards. The EuroPro Tour has a really good track record of producing top players.”

Reed moves up to third in the Order of Merit, where the top five players at the end of the season will advance to the Challenge Tour and be one step away from playing alongside the golfing elite on the main European Tour.

An inspiration for all golfers should be the progress of Scott Jamieson, who is currently level with Graeme McDowell and has a share of the lead on the second day of the Scottish Open on the European Tour.

This comes less than two years after Jamieson was winning events on the EuroPro Tour and Reed will hope to follow in Jamieson’s footsteps.

Ireland’s Niall Turner and Scotland’s Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) both finished tied third on -8 at Fota Island with Kevin Harper (East Devon) in fifth.

The action is being filmed and Matchroom Sport will produce a two-hour highlights package that will be broadcast on Sky Sports on Wednesday, July 20.

Final leaderboard

Reed Leads Day Two at Fota Island

Paul Reed produced one of the best rounds of the competition to go into the final day of the Audi Cork Irish Masters with a one-shot lead.

Reed (Bristol and Clifton) went round in 67 (-5) on Thursday at the Fota Island Resort in Cork, Ireland to lead the race to the £10,000 top prize.

His performance included two eagles – at the par-five fourth and also at the par-five 18th – and he is one ahead of Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw, East Lothian) and Daniel Sugrue (Killarney).

McAllister, who has played on the Tour for the last two seasons, will claim his highest ever finish if he can beat the tied 14th he recorded in August 2009 at the Marriott Tudor Park in Kent.

Ireland’s Ruaidhri McGee and England’s Sandeep Grewal produced two of the finest rounds of the day as they both went round in -4 (68) to comfortably make the cut.

McGee (Rosapenna, Donegal) shot 72 on Wednesday but made seven birdies, one bogey and one double bogey, while Grewal (Heswall, Merseyside) included six birdies and two bogeys in his round.

Daniel Wardrop (Didsbury, Manchester) looked to be heading home early after a score of 76 (+4) on Wednesday but he saved himself with a -5 (67) on Thursday.

Jamie Abbott, a winner at event one at Wensum Valley, Norfolk, held a share of the lead at the start of play but a run of four bogeys in six holes looks to have ended his chances of another victory.

This event is the sixth in the EuroPro Tour season and a total of 56 players made the cut, which came at +3, although Order of Merit leader Chris Hanson was not one of them.

Hanson, who has won two of the five events of the season so far including last week at Galgorm Castle, suffered a miserable day as his round of 81 (+9) included double bogeys at the fifth and 16th.

Graeme Clark, second in the money list, will also not be playing on the final day at Fota Island as he could not recover from three bogeys in four holes and missed the cut by two shots.

Five Players Share Lead Day One

Five players share the lead after a thrilling opening day of the Audi Cork Irish Masters at the Fota Island Resort in Cork, Ireland.

The event, the sixth of the 2011 EuroPro Tour season, features the best up-and-coming British and Irish golfers with more than 150 men battling for the £10,000 top prize. This was the first time the Tour had held an event at Fota Island, a venue that had previously hosted the Irish Open on the main European Tour.

Conditions were very wet at the start of the day and Jamie Abbott was an early clubhouse leader as his flawless round of -4 (68) included birdies at the second, seventh, tenth and 18th.

Abbott (Fynn Valley, Suffolk, pictured) won the opening event of the season at Wensum Valley, Norfolk but failed to make the cut at the other two EuroPro Tour events he has played this year.

However, Abbott was later joined on -4 by England’s Ian Ridgway, South African Darryn Lloyd, Scotsman Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw, East Lothian) and Ireland's Neil O'Briain, who would have had an overnight lead if had not double bogeyed the 18th.

Graeme Dunlea (Adare, County Limerick), Paul Maddy (Gog Magog, Cambridgeshire) and Adam Hodkinson are a shot further back on -3 (67). It promises to be a fantastic, hard-fought competition as more than a dozen players are on -2 after rounds of 68.

Chris Hanson (Woodsome Hall) and Graeme Clark (Doncaster) are first and second in the Order of Merit respectively, but both need solid rounds on Thursday if they are to make the cut.

Hanson, who has won two of the five tournaments so far in 2011, described his round as ‘very average’ as he made birdies at the 10th and 17th but a bogey at the 15th and double at the par-four sixth left him on +1 (73).

Graeme Clark is also on the same score, although he made a good start with two birdies in the first four holes of the front nine but bogeys at three of the next four saw him drop down the leaderboard.

Andy Shakespear (Benton Hall, Essex) held a share of the lead with four birdies in the opening five holes but it proved to be much ado about nothing as he made three bogeys in his next six holes.

All of the entrants will play a second round on Thursday and at the end of that the top 50 plus ties will advance to the final round on Friday where the overall champion will collect £10,000.

The action is being filmed and Matchroom sport will produce a two-hour highlights package that will be broadcast on Sky Sports on Wednesday, July 20.

EUROPRO Returns to Galgorm Castle

Galgorm Castle Golf Club will host the Galgorm Castle Northern Ireland PGA EuroPro Open for the second successive year.

Building on the highly successful staging of the inaugural event in 2010 - when England’s James Hepworth won from a dramatic play-off with Australia’s Daniel Gaunt - the 2011 championship promises to be even bigger and better.

The championship course at Galgorm Castle is rated as one of the finest parklands in the country and will once more test the leading professionals on the PGA EuroPro to their limits.

Players from Ireland and the UK, plus across Europe and beyond will tee it up in the 54-hole strokeplay event where a prize pot of £40,000 is on offer with £10,000 going to the winner.

“I am delighted the PGA EuroPro Tour is returning to Galgorm this year,” explained Christopher Brooke, Galgorm Castle. “It is a reward to everyone involved in 2010 who made it such a success.

“We are now focusing on making 2011 an even better event as it’s a great opportunity for the people of Northern Ireland to see a top professional golf tournament on their doorstep and to promote the ‘Golfing at Galgorm’ experience to an international audience.”

Galgorm Castle has been working closely with their partners at the prestigious Galgorm Resort & Spa, and with significant investment from both parties, has created the “ultimate golfing destination in Ireland” certain to cater for every golfers’ need.

This event offers free entry to the general public and spectator numbers are expected to exceed last year for the only high profile professional golf tournament to be held in the province this year.

Based on figures from last year, the local economy is expected to benefit in the region of £250,000 with over 1,000 bed nights required as the 156-player player field, plus caddies, officials and spectators arrive to the Ballymena area.

The tournament will be broadcast on Sky Sports, who in turn ensure coverage reaches over 50 countries through established sports channels such as ESPN, Star TV Asia and The Golf Channel in the United States.

This year’s event takes place from Wednesday, June 29 to Friday, July 1.

The official practice day is Monday, June 27 before the George Best Invitational Pro-Am serves as the event curtain-raiser on Tuesday, June 28.

After this the Gala Dinner and Charity Auction will take place at the Galgorm Resort & Spa. 

To book your team in the Pro-Am please visi twww.galgormcastle.com.