Meadow Loses LPGA Play-Off

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Stephanie Meadow missed out on a LPGA card after a dramatic 12-hole play-off ended when America’s Carlin Beck chipped in for a birdie on the 18th hole at Final Qualifying in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The 22-year-old from Jordanstown was also in the rough close to the 18th green but her attempt to follow Beck and hole out failed.

It means Beck gains Category 12 status along with 19 other golfers, while Meadow will play on next year’s LPGA Tour with the more limited Category 17 status.

Meadow had a chance on the second play-off hole of the morning, the eighth in total after six were played on on Sunday, but she just missed a birdie putt from 10 feet after Beck and Casey Grice both missed their putts.

Grice was eliminated at the fourth hole they played today when she made bogey at the 10th, a hole where Meadow played a brilliant bunker shot to make par and continue on to the 18th, the 100th hole she played in the tournament.

Meadow looked set to earn Category 12 status without the need for a play-off before she made bogey at the 16th and 17th holes during the fifth and final round of regulation play on Sunday.

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Murphy Masters Second at Motocaddy

Mark Murphy carded a final-round 72 on the par 71 course of the PGA Europro Tour Motocaddy Masters last Friday, taking home a cheque for £3,750 and one of Motocaddy’s recently launched M1 Lite Push Trolleys. 

Winner, Neil Chaudhuri, claimed his first professional title with victory in the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour’s Motocaddy Masters at The Carrick on Loch Lomond.

The Leicester golfer collects £10,000 and a brand new top-of-the-range Motocaddy M3 Pro after finishing eight under par for his 54 holes, four clear of his nearest challengers. Mark Murphy and two-time European Tour winner Bradley Dredge shared second on four under.

Chaudhuri (www.specialisteyes.co.uk) began the day one clear of Murphy on six under, and shot a final-round 69 for two under, 

Dredge carded the best round of the day, a four-under 67 and takes home the same amount of £3,750 and a brand new Motocaddy S1 PRO. As Dredge and Murphy tied for second the Motocadd ytrollies were awarded based on Order of Merit position.

Winner Chaudhuri had led for most of the tournament and maintained control throughout the final round with birdies at 14 and 15 seeing him pull away from the challenge of Dredge, who carded a four-under final-round 67.

“It is my first win in nearly five years as a professional,” said Chaudhuri. “It means a lot because I really struggled for my first couple of years as a pro. I stuck at it and I feel really proud to have won today.

“I went to Qualifying School earlier in the year and only just got my card, so I felt lucky to be playing on the Tour this year. I have been improving week on week and it went pretty well this week.

“You have to avoid the bunkers here, they are so severe. I stuck to the same game plan all week and that was to go for accuracy.

“It is such a huge first prize to win £10,000 and that bumps you towards the top of the Order of Merit. A lot can change in a week. Ultimately I want to be on the European Tour and what we are all here for is to get onto the Challenge Tour and be one step away from the European Tour.”

Neil Fenwick (Dunbar Golf Club), James Maw (Rockliffe Hall) and Max Williams (Cuddington Golf Club) shared fourth on one under, while Nick McCarthy’s second-round 65 (-6) has been confirmed as a new course record at The Carrick.

Highlights of the Motocaddy Masters air on Sky Sports at 8pm on Tuesday, July 22 with repeats throughout the following day. The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour stays in Scotland and moves to Royal Burgess in Edinburgh, with the three-day tournament running from Wednesday, July 23.

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Higgins Still in Italian Hunt

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David Higgins birdied three of his last six holes to grab the clubhouse lead at the 70° Open d’Italia Lindt. 

The 40 year old, whose only top-three finish of a European Tour career that has spanned more than 200 events over 20 years came back in 1996, carded a three under par 69 to reach eight under at Golf Club Torino.

“I hit some nice shots and had four birdies so I’m pleased with that,” said Higgins, who currently lies 163rd on The Race to Dubai after regaining his card at Qualifying School last year.

“If you keep hitting the fairways on this course you can manage it and you get a lot of opportunities.

“It’s nice to be leading and I’m sure I’ll be in the hunt when the afternoon guys finish. This is a good course for me and if I play well I have a good chance here.”

Higgins’ total was one ahead of overnight co-leaders Nicolas Colsaerts, Ricardo Gonzalez and Maximilian Kieffer, and the Irishman soon had company at the top when the big-hitting Belgian responded to an opening bogey with birdies at the second and seventh.

Gonzalez and Kieffer remained on seven under after ten and six holes respectively, and they were joined one off the pace by Steve Webster when the Englishman birdied the 12th and 14th.

Armitage Seals Kingspan Concra Wood

Marcus Armitage recorded his first 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour victory when he shot a final-round 68 to win the Kingspan Concra Wood Open by two strokes from Paul Doherty.

Armitage finished the event eight under par after his four-under last 18 at the par-72 Concra Wood Golf Club in Castleblayney, Ireland.

The Lancastrian began the final round one behind Scotland’s Doherty but began in some style with an eagle on the par-five first, climbing to six under alongside his playing partner Doherty, who opened with a birdie four.

Birdies on the third and fourth afforded Armitage a two-stroke advantage, but Doherty hit back-to-back par breakers at seven and eight to leave the pair tied at eight under.

Armitage dropped back one when he bogeyed the tenth but Doherty joined him three holes later when he took six at the par-five 13th.

On the 14th Armitage returned to eight under and as heavy rain began to engulf the course at Concra Wood, Doherty dropped to six under with a bogey on the 17th. His English rival held his nerve to par the last and collect the £10,000 winner’s cheque and a brand new Motocaddy trolley.

“I have only played twice on this tour before and I missed the cut both times,” said Armitage on collecting his trophy. “This is my first event of the year since Qualifying School and it is great to win, I didn’t think it would feel as good as it does to win it. Concra Wood is a great test.

“The rain got heavy on the last three holes and I just had to focus and play the shots I needed too.”

Doherty takes home £5,000 after finishing six under par for the tournament, while his compatriot Elliot Saltman shot a six-under-par final round 66 to fire himself from one over par at the start of the day to five under and third place by the end.

Richard Edginton shot a four-under final round to finish fourth. The Wimbledon golfer had to putt the last 11 holes with his driver after a mishap left his putter bent.

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Paul Doherty Leads Concra Wood

Paul Doherty shot a second-round 70 to take a one-stroke advantage into the final round of the Kingspan Concra Wood Open, the latest event on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour.

The Scotsman moved to five under after 36 holes while Marcus Armitage (Howley Hall GC) is one off the pace after shooting the day’s best score, a five-under 67. William Harrold is joined by last year’s Kingspan Concra Wood Open winner Billy Hemstock and Limerick’s Tim Rice on three under in a tie for third.

Doherty (Vale Hotel) had shared the lead with Colm Moriarty (Glasson Hotel and Golf Club) on three under par following Wednesday’s first round, but the Irishman shot a four-over 76 on day two and is now tied 19th.

After a one-hour delay due to fog, joint overnight leader Doherty teed off on the tenth tee but bogeyed the 14th to drop to two under. Back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th saw him take his second-round card below par and a four on the par-five first had him at five under, although that was short-lived when his second bogey of the round came on the following hole.

However, Doherty found one more par breaker on the seventh and his clubhouse lead was never taken.

His closest challenger at the start of Friday’s final round will be Armitage. The Englishman is playing his first 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event of the main season after finishing tied 33rd at Qualifying School.

He went into the second round one over but quickly found form, making five birdies before the turn. A bogey at the second, having started on the tenth, was only a brief setback before a sixth birdie of the round was recorded on the fourth.

Hemstock (Teignmouth Golf Club), carded a one-under 71 on day two and is just two strokes behind Doherty as he looks to defend the title he won by play-off at Concra Wood last year.

Two birdies on his last three holes took Rice to three under, while Harrold (Sheringham Golf Club) fired a second-round 70 to manoeuvre himself into a tie for third.

Ahead of the final round a cut to the leading 50 players plus ties has been made. A total of 53 golfers, whose 36-hole score is five over par or better, will play the final round in a bid to claim the £10,000 winner’s cheque and a brand new Motocaddy trolley.

Spectator entry to the course is free throughout the week.

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