Midas man O'Hara wins at the double

Paul O’Hara continued to prove he is a PGA Professional currently blessed with the Midas touch of the golfing kind by winning not one but two of the Association’s most prestigious tournaments at Blairgowrie.

The 34-year-old Scot began the PGA Professional Championship and PGA Play-Offs at the Perthshire club on the back of an astonishing run of success in this year’s Arnold Clark-sponsored Tartan Tour.

He had not finished outside the top three in its eight events, tied for first place in two of them and won another two, including the Northern Open, outright.

Four negotiations of the Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas-designed Landsdowne course course later and O’Hara had doubled that tally of outright victories. Moreover he had done so in fine style.

A 20-under-par total had resulted in him finishing four shots clear of compatriot Greig Hutcheon in the PGA Professional Championship and eight ahead of England’s Matt Cort to add the PGA Play-Off trophy to his haul of silverware.

It was the second time O’Hara had won the PGA Professional Championship, his first success coming four years ago at Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland. Reprising that triumph means he is the first since Bob Cameron in 2002 to win the event twice.

And, to cap it all, he signed off by holing a 30-foot putt for a birdie at the par-four 18^th.

Paul O’Hara continued to prove he is a PGA Professional currently blessed with the Midas touch of the golfing kind by winning not one but two of the Association’s most prestigious tournaments at Blairgowrie.

The 34-year-old Scot began the PGA Professional Championship and PGA Play-Offs at the Perthshire club on the back of an astonishing run of success in this year’s Arnold Clark-sponsored Tartan Tour.

He had not finished outside the top three in its eight events, tied for first place in two of them and won another two, including the Northern Open, outright.

Four negotiations of the Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas-designed Landsdowne course course later and O’Hara had doubled that tally of outright victories. Moreover he had done so in fine style.

A 20-under-par total had resulted in him finishing four shots clear of compatriot Greig Hutcheon in the PGA Professional Championship and eight ahead of England’s Matt Cort to add the PGA Play-Off trophy to his haul of silverware.

It was the second time O’Hara had won the PGA Professional Championship, his first success coming four years ago at Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland. Reprising that triumph means he is the first since Bob Cameron in 2002 to win the event twice.

And, to cap it all, he signed off by holing a 30-foot putt for a birdie at the par-four 18^th.

“I knew I was three ahead at that stage so I was basically trying to two putt and it went in,” he explained.

“The only tournament I can think of in which I finished like that was the PGA Cup in 2019 when I holed a 30-footer at 18 to win a point.”

Winning the PGA Professional Championship earned O’Hara £10,000 and has put him on course to earn selection for the 2022 PGA Cup; victory in the PGA Play-Offs was worth another £3,500 and has qualified him for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September.

“I’ve played in the tournament twice before and I can’t wait to go back there,” he added. “Hopefully I’ll keep my form until September.”

That form resulted in a blistering start to the fourth and final round that erased overnight leader Hutcheon’s two shot advantage.

“I had a really fast start – birdie, birdie, birdie,” he said. “I had a few good chances after that as well. I was five-under through 10 then had another birdie at 18. I knew I had a good lead and just had to use my head – the course can beat you very easily round here.”

With O'Hara in this rich vein of form, not this time.

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