Lewis Atkinson cruises to PGA Surrey Open Championship
07/07/2021
Lewis Atkinson produced an eagle and three birdies in a five-under-par back nine to secure the PGA Surrey Open Championship.
The second CK Facilities Management PGA South Order of Merit event came from Cuddington Golf Club, with a huge 135-man field vying for the £12,500 prize fund.
Shooting a six-under-par final round, it would be Atkinson who would deliver on the final day; his 10th career title securing the £1500 top prize and shooting him to the top of the CK Facilities Management PGA South Order of Merit rankings.
Reflecting after his round, the 42-year-old said: “I was just really good tee-to-green today. I recently went back with my old coach, Peter Mitchell (PGA Professional and three-time European Tour winner) and I’ve been working really hard on my swing. And today, I just kept finding the middle of the greens.
“It’s been my putting and short game that has let me down, so I went and saw my friend and fellow PGA Professional, Ben Clayton at Hankley Common just last week and I’ve instantly seen results. Today I had a few pitch shots that went really close, and they ended up being comfortable birdies.”
Atkinson had started his final round just one point back of Tonbridge Golf Centre’s Todd Adcock, who had fired 40 points (four-under-par) on the first day of the tournament.
After a 40-minute rain delay to start proceedings, Atkinson produced four consecutive pars to start. A birdie at the par-4 fifth was followed by four further pars, meaning his front nine concluded with 19 points.
It was the back nine, though, where Atkinson would deliver some killer blows; with an eagle three at the par-5 12th putting him into pole position for the trophy.
With James Sharp (Ryan Fenwick Golf Academy) and Guy Woodman (ProAgenda.com) both setting the clubhouse target at 76 points (four-under-par), Atkinson would produce three birdies in his closing four holes to secure a five-point victory over the duo.
After landing the title, Atkinson revealed: “I’ve just accepted a job being a full-time coach at Pine Ridge Golf Course, so I’m really excited for that. And that’s all that’s been on my mind actually!
"It’s just the new job that I’ve got, so I will play all of the other Order of Merit events, but my focus is going to be on the coaching side of things now.”
CLICK HERE to view a full list of scores from the PGA Surrey Open Championship.
