Paul O’Hara is hoping his victory in the Arnold Clark Tartan Tour Championship can give him a timely boost as he prepares to chase the American dream.
The 37-year-old, who has been a prolific winner on the domestic scene in recent seasons, was crowned the king of the King’s Course at Gleneagles after a two-under 68 gave him a slender one-shot win over Gavin Hay and Craig Lee.
Buoyed by his win, O’Hara, who picked up a cheque for £1,600, will head to the USA next week for the first stage of the PGA Tour’s qualifying school in Texas.
It promises to be a daunting examination in a marathon process which offers places on the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Americas for the leading finishers in December’s final.
O’Hara is focussed on overcoming the first hurdle and the former Tartan Tour No 1 is raring to go after signing off his campaign on home turf with a morale-boosting win at the home of The PGA in Scotland.
“You never give up on the dream,” said O’Hara, who was a winner on American soil earlier this year when he landed the $20,000 top prize in the Asher Tour’s Fallbrook Open.
“I’ve played well over in the States, and I enjoy the courses and obviously the weather. If you can still hit it a decent length, then you still have a chance. There’s nothing to lose so I’ll give it a go.
“The Arnold Clark Tour Championship was a nice little tune up. I missed the Scottish PGA Championship as I was playing in the British Masters, but the Tour Championship is one event you want to get into. It gives you added incentive at the end of the season.”
O’Hara had been a runner-up three times over the King’s Course at the Scottish PGA Championships of 2016, 2017 and 2018 but he finally got over the winning line in this neck of the woods with a sturdy display in dry but tough conditions.
He added: “With the wind coming home, that’s the toughest I’ve played the back nine there for a while.”
O’Hara is now the proud father of a 14-month-old daughter, Elle, and the parental duties have certainly helped to focus the golfing mind.
“It’s changed things a wee bit,” he added with a smile. “I need to manage my time a bit better. When I do practice, I make sure I make the most out of it. She might need to come to the range with me at times but that’s all you can do.”
