Chris set for first ever final appearance

Colchester Golf Club’s Chris Cutchie booked a spot in his first ever Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship final.

Cutchie topped the leaderboard at Gog Magog Golf Club in Cambridge after carding a five under par round of 67 to win by one shot ahead of Mark Bell of Dukes Meadows Golf & Tennis Club in west London.

They and 12 other qualifiers will now head to Little Aston Golf Club in Sutton Coldfield for the £78,000 grand final which is being held between July 24-27.

“It’s only the second time I’ve tried to qualify for the final, usually it clashes with another event but this time it didn’t,” explained Cutchie.

“So this will be my first final and I’m delighted to have qualified for such a great event.

“I think my first thought will be to go to Little Aston and enjoy it.

“The Order of Merit has always been what I’ve focused on in the past. But Little Aston is lovely and I’m really looking forward to playing there.

“I only played in one PGA Assistants Final which was at East Sussex a few years ago and I finished sixth. So it’ll be good to play a prestige tournament like this again.”

Cutchie admitted the competition was tough with all of the qualifiers going under par on the day.

“The course was playing pretty soft and the scores reflected that,” he said.

“I had a really good start with three birdies in the first four holes and because it was a qualifier I didn’t want to make any mistakes, I wanted to putt well and keep it tidy. There was no need for me to take any risks here.”