Lee, Whitby-Smith and Morgan secure DP World Tour spots at PGA Play-Offs

21/04/2023

After three days of tough competition at Aphrodite Hills Resort (PGA National Cyprus), Stirling-based Craig Lee held on to his lead to take the trophy at the PGA Play-Offs.

Despite final day surges from a number of players in the field, Lee’s bogey-free round of 66 meant he couldn’t be caught, and he secures himself four DP World Tour and two Challenge Tour starts later in the year.

Lee will play the Betfred British Masters, the ISPS Handa World Invitational, the Horizon Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour, as well as the Challenge Tour’s British Challenge and Scottish Challenge.

Congratulations go to @CRAIGLEE337 who secures 4️⃣ @DPWorldTour spots and 2️⃣ @Challenge_Tour spots after a final round 66 at @AphroditeHills1 🥳

Well done to @dwhitbysmith who secures 2️⃣ @DPWorldTour spots and @zak_morgan1 who secures 1️⃣#PGAPlayOffs23 pic.twitter.com/1d4hCG0VF2
— The PGA (@ThePGA) April 21, 2023

He said: “It’s awesome - coming into the week I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t played a huge amount of golf recently, but I grafted - I made a birdie on 7 today and decided to go for the green on 8, then managed to two-putt that, then to get to the turn and see that I was still up there and had a couple of shots lead, was a nice place to be, but coming down the home stretch anything can happen.”

“To make an up and down on 16 from the fairway to save par was a big thing, then to hole a long par putt on 17, gave me a nice cushion coming into 18.”

Drayton Park Golf Club’s Head Professional, Daniel Whitby-Smith (pictured), finished runner-up with an excellent final round score of 65 and will join Lee at both the Betfred British Masters and ISPS Handa World Invitational.

He said: “I’m absolutely over the moon - I’ve never played a DP World Tour event before, I’m a club pro! The Belfry is only 10 minutes away from where I live, so I’m sure I’ll have a big following there this year and I’ve played there a lot.”

Zak Morgan, who is based at Rochester and Cobham Golf Club in Kent, came in third with a final round score of 67, which takes him to the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

He said: “It was a slow start for me today, I was about seven shots behind the lead through seven holes, but then the putts started going in and I’m really looking forward to playing the ISPS Handa World Invitational. I wasn’t expecting it, so I’m really pleased and I’ve played Galgorm Castle before, so it’ll be nice to go back.”

Liam Grehan (The K Club) finished with an eagle on hole 18 to finish tied 5th alongside Jamie Howarth (Davenport Golf Club), both of whom gain a spot on the Clutch Tour, whilst Paul O’Hara’s (North Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd) 4th place finish earns him a position on the Tartan Pro Tour.

CLICK HERE for the full leaderboard from the 2023 PGA Play-Offs.