David dazzles in Rayleigh triumph

David Salisbury lit up the Rayleigh Club with two superb rounds to claim the Lynx Golf Championship – and earn a place at the PGA Play Offs in Turkey.

The Three Rivers Golf and Country Club second-year trainee PGA Professional became a father for the first time in July with the birth of his son Ryan.

And Salisbury, 40, was able to celebrate another red-letter day by recording his first victory in an Order of Merit event.

He fired a fabulous first-round 65, backing it up with a cool-as-ice 69 to finish at eight-under-par. That left him no less than four shots clear of a cluster of players including 2015 Order of Merit champion Darren Charlton (Dunstable Downs).

Also at four-under-par was Glen Portelli (Verulam) who will be joining Charlton and Salisbury in Turkey in late November after producing a late charge to clinch third spot on the Order of Merit. Luke Eggleston (LE Custom Fitting Studio) and Mark Talbott (Thorpe Hall) were the other pair to take a share of second place.

But the final two-day tournament of the year in the East region was dominated by Salisbury from start to finish. He birdied four of the first five holes and never looked back.

Salisbury, 40, kept a warm putter on the second day as he notched four more birdies to comfortably keep the chasing pack at bay.

His win secured him second place in the overall 2015 standings, guaranteeing a spot at Antalya Golf Club where he will compete against an elite field of PGA professionals from Britain and Ireland. The top-10 in Turkey then qualify to play in next May’s multi-million pound BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Salisbury said: “I knew I needed a good result to get into the Play Offs and just played my own game, not focussing on what other people were doing. In fact, I didn’t know I had won until I had finished!

“With the Order of Merit race, it’s easy to start thinking, ‘What’s he doing, where’s he lying?’ I’d done that in the last two events and it didn’t help. So, I just focussed on my game and when I do that, I know can win.

“I’m really pleased to have done that and now I am looking forward to going to Turkey for the Play Offs at the end of November.  I’m right up for it!”

Charlton, 48, finished in the clear on the Order of Merit – the second time he has bagged top spot, having also done so in 2005.

He said: “It’s been brilliant. I didn’t start the year with any intention of playing as much as I have. But I did okay in the first couple of events and just carried on. As each event passed, I got higher and higher and managed to hang on through the last few.

“I’ve been consistent and putted better than in previous seasons, which has helped. I think I’ve had one bad round from the 14 – apart from that, I’ve been par or better.”

Last year, Charlton narrowly failed to make it through to Wentworth as he was pipped in a play-off at Antalya.

He said: “There were five of us for the last three spots and unfortunately I missed out. I’ve got over that now and I’ll go back there hoping to go that one shot better.”

Portelli, 24, will be making his first appearance at the PGA Play-Offs after he just edged out Stuart Brown in the scramble to clinch the third and final place.

Portelli said: “I came quite close last year, finishing sixth, so I am very pleased to get over the line this time.

“It’s probably up there as the biggest achievement of my career so far. I can’t think of anything else that tops it. It’s what we all set out to do and now I’ve got the chance to qualify for bigger events such as Wentworth.

“Guys from the region have done very well there in previous years – that has motivated me in the past. Now I want to go there and fly the flag for the East region – that’s what it’s all about.”