JASON McCreadie lavished praise on the celebrated golf coach, Bob Torrance, after easing to the biggest win of his career in the £55,000 Gleneagles Scottish PGA championship last night.
The 37-year-old Buchanan Castle pro, who led the way heading into the closing round, signed off with a one-under 72 over the PGA Centenary course for a seven-under aggregate of 285 and a two stroke victory over Aberdeen's Graeme Lornie.
McCreadie,
who has been honing his game under the expert gaze of veteran swing guru Torrance, has tasted 72-hole success twice before on the Tartan Tour, having won the Northern Open in both 2004 and 2006, but the big-hitting Ayrshireman admitted yesterday's success in the oldest professional event in Scotland was the sweetest of them all.
"Winning the Northern Open twice was nice but this is the national championship and it's by far the biggest win of my career," said McCreadie, who pocketed the first prize of £9,000. "I've been with Bob for a while now and when you get the chance to get coaching off him you don't turn it down.
"He's the best in the world and a real good guy and I'm sure he'll be delighted for me after this. He told me to go out and enjoy it as these are the best days of your life. I'll certainly enjoy this."
McCreadie had been two strokes ahead going into the closing round, and with Lornie, Chris Doak and Eddie Thomson all making menacing advances during a tense afternoon, the overnight leader reeled off birdies on two of his last three holes to fend off the chasing pack and seal the triumph.
Lornie, who decided to give full-time golf on the Scottish circuit a go this season after almost a decade as a greenkeeper, claimed his best finish as a pro with a tidy three-under 70 – the best of the final round – which handed him a cheque for £7,000.
"Playing golf on a full-time basis is what I want to do and this result has justified my decision to give it a go," admitted Lornie, who picked up birdies at the second, third and 14th in a bogey-free card. "To finish in this position in the national championship is a great achievement for me and, to be honest, a result which I would never have expected at the start of the week."
Doak, the winner of the past four order of merit events on the Tartan Tour this season, mounted a spirited weekend charge to secure third place on four-under 288.
The 30-year-old, ten shots off the pace at the halfway stage, thrust himself into contention with a best of the championship 67 during Saturday's third round, but despite a closing round of 71 yesterday the reigning Northern Open champion was left counting the cost of his slow start to the event.
"I screwed up on the first two days," said Doak, whose finish cemented his dominant position at the top of the domestic rankings. "I made a run over the last two rounds but I just didn't run fast enough."
Largs-based pro Thomson signed off with a 75 to finish in fourth place on 290 while Carluke's Craig Ronald, the 2004 Scottish PGA champion, shared fifth with Chris Russell and David Orr.
European Tour rookie Craig Lee, runner-up in the past two championships and the leader after two rounds this time, sagged to an 81 in the grim final day conditions and tied for eighth on 297.
SCOREBOARDSCOTTISH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (PGA Centenary course, Gleneagles, par 73) Final totals:
285: J McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) 73 69 71 72
287: G Lornie (Kings Links) 69 74 74 70
288: C Doak (Unattached) 74 76 67 71
290: E Thomson (Senit Associates) 71 71 73 75
296: C Russell (RAW Golf Course Design) 75 73 71 77, C Ronald (Carluke) 73 76 69 78, D Orr (East Renfrewshire) 72 71 73 80
297: E Little (Co. Tipperary) 74 71 79 73, G Wright (West Linton) 75 70 75 77, C Lee (Unattached) 71 69 76 81
298: J Lomas (Unattached) 81 72 70 75, R Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) 76 75 70 77, C Nicoll (Prestwick) 77 71 72 78
299: C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 77 74 74 74, L Mann (Carnoustie) 76 75 73 75
300: S Cairns (Colville Park) 73 76 75 76, P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 71 75 77 77, S Henderson (Kings Links) 72 74 72 82
301: I Taylor (Drumpellier) 80 72 73 76, D Patrick (Elie Sports Club) 74 71 73 83
302: S Gray (Hayston) 77 71 75 79, M King (Kingsfield) 78 74 71 79, J McGhee (Turnhouse) 76 74 72 80
303: A Lockhart (Ladybank) 75 73 77 78
304: C Kelly (Cawder) 75 74 82 73, G Fox (East Kilbride) 72 78 76 78, G Law (Uphall) 76 73 75 80
305: C Gillies (Perry Golf) 76 76 75 78, S Taylor (Bothwell Castle) 72 72 79 82, A Purdie (Kingsbarns) 75 72 76 82
306: E Cameron (Hamilton) 73 78 78 77, S Catlin (Greenburn) 75 70 75 84
307: N Scott-Smith (Palacerigg Golf Centre) 71 79 79 78, G McFarlane (Clober) 78 75 76 78
308: K Walker (Castle Park Golf Club) 77 75 80 76, J McKinnon (Irvine) 76 75 78 79, S Morrison (Acushnet Europe Ltd) 74 77 78 79, R Cameron (McDonald) 79 71 73 85
309: A Hunter (Mearns Castle) 74 76 79 80, T Burgoyne (Gotastroms Golf Klubb) 74 77 76 82
311: M Loftus (Cowglen) 74 77 80 80
315: S Savage (Dalmuir) 74 70 87 84
316: S Duncan (Balbirnie Park) 75 76 82 83, S Morrison (Tain) 74 76 79 87
317: R Gray (Torrance House) 80 70 83 84
321: A Cooper (Newmachar) 77 75 80 79, C Everett (Caldwell) 72 74 86 89
323: D McKay (Wellsgreen) 78 75 84 86, S Craig (Paragon Golf Akademie) 76 77 83 87
328: S McNally (Scottish Institute of Sport) 82 70 86 90
Rtd: K Hutton (Downfield), D Robertson (Mearns Castle)
The full article contains 1041 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
