Glenmuir debutant Raitt clinches final spot at Hindhead

Andrew Raitt took the honours in the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship south qualifier at his first attempt.

Raitt, of Weybridge’s St George’s Hill Golf Club, won the event by just one shot.

He pipped Milford Golf Club’s David Callaway after carding a three-under-par round of 67 at Hindhead Golf Club.

They will now join 19 other qualifiers in the £78,000 Glenmuir showpiece being held on June 11-14 at De Vere Slaley Hall in Northumberland.

The Peugeot-supported final will also decide who makes the Great Britain and Ireland squad which will compete in the PGA Cup against the USA in an event which will also be staged at Slaley Hall.

But although Raitt has been with the St George’s club for 20 years, this was his first shot at trying to make the Glenmuir Final.

And he headed a large field of competitors to top the leaderboard.

He said: “I’ve never tried to get to the final before.

“I don’t know why I decided to go in for it, but I wanted to play a little more this year.

“I played nice and steadily but my first thought was really to qualify.

“In the end I only made one bogey and it’s always good to shoot a score of three under par.

“We had a good competitive threesome going so that helped as well.”

Raitt is also looking forward to taking on the Slaley Hall course.

He added: “I’ve played here before, but maybe not for seven or eight years. It’s a good track and I do well there... sometimes!”

But Raitt insists few venues can match up to his spectacular home club.

He said: “It really is an amazing place to play golf.

“I’ve been there for 20 years and I still love it.”