It was a long, long wait for Robert Giles at Slieve Russell yesterday but a worthwhile one as he finally clinched the €50,000 Quinn Insurance Trophy after a one-hole pay-off with Barrie Trainor.
The win also secured the Greenore pro a place in this year's Quinn Insurance British Masters at the Belfry in September.
But it took hours to learn his fact as Giles was in the clubhouse at six-under-par 138 by lunchtime but Trainor, who shared the overnight lead at five-under with Giles and Geoff Loughrey, didn't hole out with a stunning pitch to catch the leader until almost seven o'clock. The pair then had to wait almost an hour for the rest of the field to finish.
The play-off hole was the par four 10th and Giles boomed a massive drive 370 yards down the fairway before hitting a lob wedge to four inches for a certain birdie. Trainor's second approach, an eight iron, settled 25 feet from the pin and his birdie putt rimmed out leaving Giles the winner.
"The big bonus for me is that this win gets me into the Quinn British Masters in September when I have another chance to gauge myself against the big boys," enthused Yorkshire man Giles.
Giles began his second round at the 10th tee and covered the back nine in one-under with eight pars and birdie three at the 12th hole. He lost that advantage when he missed the green at the second but then wedged to four feet for a two at the short fourth.
After driving into trees he made bogey five at eight but finished strongly with birdie four at the ninth where he reached the green with a drive and four iron, getting down in two stabs from 20 feet.
Trainor produced a fabulous finish to his round to force the play-off when all seemed lost. His last hole was the long ninth and needing a birdie to catch Giles, the Warrenpoint man drove into trees then found a fairway bunker with his recovery. From the sand he wedged over the green into the dip and light rough at the back but, miraculously, hit a delicate pitch and run from 20 yards into the cup.
"I was looking at getting down in two from where I was for second place," laughed Barrie.
After starting at the 10th, he found water for bogey five at 12 but chipped and putted for birdie four at the next hole to turn in level par for the day. He birdie the first hole from eight feet, three-putted the sixth for par when an eagle looked a possibility from 20' and he also three-stabbed eighth for bogey four before that fantastic finish.
Last year's winner David Higgins finished third one stroke behind Giles and Trainor, closing with a 69 while joint overnight leader Geoff Loughrey slid out to joint fourth with Damian Mooney after a 74,
Mooney started the day two strokes behind the overnight leaders but had a rather roller coaster second round that included six birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey six at the eighth hole where he splashed into water. That left Mooney back where he started the final round at three-under.