PGA duo shine at Stoke by Nayland

England coach and PGA pro Paul Eales signed for a final round six-under-par 65 to clinch a share of sixth place in the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship at Stoke by Nayland.

The Hillside attached golfer was joined by fellow north region pro Andrew Murray with the pair among a quartet finishing six shots behind champion Santiago Luna who carded a 64 to win the €46,000 first prize.

Eales, a respected broadcaster, will celebrate with a week off before taking a trip to New York with his son and a tilt at qualifying for the US Senior Open Championship at Oak Tree National, Oklahoma next month.

“I’m delighted with my result at the PGA Seniors, “said Eales who is support coach to the national boys under 18s and is also coach to the England north west under 16-18s squad.

“It has been a scruffy sort of week where I didn’t have total control over the ball but I’ve said all along it is the mistakes you don’t make and when I did make slight mistakes in the last round I made up for them with a good putt or nice chip or whatever. No bogeys on the scorecard is always good.

“Next it’s a week at home and then off to US Open Senior qualifying in New York. I’m going with my son Josh who has just finished his GCSEs so I thought we’d have a little holiday and combine it with the US Senior Open so we will be doing the sights of New York and try and qualify at same time.”

Coaching remains Eales’ passion and he will use his experience in the PGA Seniors to help his younger charges who are trying to emulate him by eventually playing on the European Tour.

“I think what you are trying to do on a golf course is practice what you preach, and it gives me a great appreciation once I’m playing to actually understand what the students are going through when you are talking to them,” he said.

“What we sometimes think, as coaches, as an easy simple message is different  under the pressure and emotion of playing a round of tournament golf so it has been an interesting journey trying to put myself under that pressure.”

Murray, (pictured above) who is attached to Lymm Golf Club, recovered from two early dropped shots to sink four birdies on his way to a final round 69.
He was paired with the eventual winner, Luna, in the third round, and revelled in the experience of challenging for the prestigious title on the final day.

“It’s a thrill to see my name up on the leaderboard in such a prestigious event,” he said. “I was paired with Santiago Luna in the third round who is a delight to play with. I haven’t played with him for 25 years.

“I’ve been doing a lot of corporate business which is the cornerstone of my work. I tried desperately to get out and hit balls last week in preparation for this but didn’t manage it so it was nice to come here and get into golf mode.”