Gane equals course best to dominate at Sonning

Chris Gane laid down a marker for the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship when he equalled he course record on his way to winning the South A qualifying event at Sonning Golf Club.

Gane, representing Left Handed Golf at Silvermere, is hoping to win a spot in the GB & Ireland PGA Cup team that faces the USA at Foxhills in Surrey in September.

But he knows he will need to maintain his good form to achieve that.

Gane carded a six under par round of 64 at the Reading venue to win by three shots ahead of Daniel Ball (Bearwood Lakes Golf Club) and Scott Marshall (The Lambourne Club).

They will join nine other qualifiers for the 78,000 grand final which is being held at at Luttrellstown Castle Golf Club near Dublin between June 13-16.

But Gane admitted he did not realise he had rewritten the course record books in a round that included eight birdies.

“I was happy with the round, I’d never played there before and just wanted to qualify,” he said.

“But as for any records, I didn’t know, I had to get away quickly and wasn’t told that. I’m glad if that was the case, it was a good day at the office.

“It was a case of trying to grab one of the 12 spots, anything more than that is a bonus.

“I played nicely, but ignorance was bliss really, it was a nice day and we didn’t have much wind. I was able to make hay.”

Former European and Challenge Tour professional Gane has an impressive record in the final but knows he will have his work cut out in Ireland.

“Here, it was 40-or-so very good players in the qualifying round,” he said.

“In Ireland, it’ll be about 120 of the best players in the country. I’m just trying to play as much as possible. I’ll be in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and there are other events lined up, so you what it’s like as a golfer, you just want to keep playing.”