Great Scott flies off with Virgin Atlantic opener
01/05/2015
After practicing hard all winter, Staplehurst Golf Centre’s Scott Stevens carded a seven-under-par 137 to win the inaugural Order Of Merit at Frilford Heath, the opening event of the 2015 Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit schedule.
Stevens shot one of the two lowest final round scores, a five-under-par 67, to top the leaderboard of 120 players on the Blue course at Oxfordshire’s Frilford Heath, to win the title and £2,000.
His superb performance, especially on the back nine, left him three strokes ahead of his nearest rivals Rob Gowers (South Winchester) who carded a 69 for a total of 140, and local man Adam Wotton (Oxford Golf Centre) who equalled Stevens second round with a bogey-free 67.
Tied for second spot, Gowers and Wootton took home £1,250 each, leaving last year’s Order of Merit champion Benn Barham (PGolfCoaching@Pedham), Surrey’s Christopher Rodgers and Chris Croucher (East Sussex National) sharing fourth place.
“Having made the decision to play more competitive golf, I put in a lot of practice over the winter, focused on my fitness, and I’m delighted it’s paying off,” said Stevens.
“I played well, but I was particularly pleased with the way I recovered from a disastrous double bogey, bogey start to the final round. I used that start to spur myself on and make it work for me.
“I holed a few putts and got to three-under-par by the 13th but the eagle at the 15th capped what was turning into a hot round after that start. I haven’t played much competitive golf this year and I’ve got a lot of teaching commitments, but I’ll keep up the work rate as I’m now in good shape for the Order of Merit.”
Stevens shot a first round two-under-par 70 to be right in contention behind first round leader James Ablett (Lee-on-the-Solent) on three-under-par, but his final round opened with a costly double bogey six followed by a bogey five leaving Stevens a long way off the leading pack.
Determined to repair the damage, Stevens found top gear and birdied the fourth and fifth, and then the seventh and the eighth to turn in one-under-par, four-under for the event and back in contention.
He continued the good work with another birdie at the 10th, and while a bogey at the 11th spoiled his run, he calmly birdied the 12th and the 13th to reach three-under-par.
In sight of pole position with four holes left, Stevens piled on the pressure with a terrific eagle three at the 15th, chipping in from the back fringe from 15 feet. Three solid pars to finish put him on seven-under and out of reach of the other contenders.
Next up in the Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit is the PGA Southern Open Championship on June 16-17 at East Sussex National Golf Resort & Spa East Course.
