Raitt’s Southern Open Masterclass

Former Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit champion Andy Raitt (St. George’s Hill) delivered a spectacular eleven-under-par performance at East Sussex National to win the PGA Southern Open Championship.

Blessed with ideal weather around the past European Open venue, Raitt shot a total of 205 for the three round event around the East course to take home the trophy, the winner’s cheque of £2,500, and the admiration of all those who had battled around the former European Open venue for two days. In second place was Benn Barham on five-under-par and £1,500, while Tim Spence (The Golf College) one shot back in third place banked £1,225.

The leading amateur was Lindfield based The Golf College’s Piers Berrington on two-over-par, including two promising sub-par rounds of 71. Raitt and Barham also tied the preceding pro-am event with five-under-par 67s for a welcome £550 each.

There were a record number of 138 players competing in this event, underlining both the region’s strength in depth and the pulling power of its fiercely competitive Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit schedule.

Opening with a six-under-par 66, Raitt was sharing the lead with defending champion Chris Gane (Lefthandedgolf@Silvermere), followed by Lea Cooper (Horsham Golf & Fitness) and Richard Neil-Jones (Hilden Park Golf Centre) on four-under-par 68. Gane would eventually finish fourth on 213 with James Ablett (Lee-on-the-Solent).

With 46 making the cut, the second round at East Sussex National tested the remaining competitors to their limits with a longer course and firming greens, ironed for three days in succession.

The result was a field that struggled to break par, with the magnificent exception of Raitt who breezed through all the challenges with an even stronger performance of seven-under-par 65 to lead by nine on -13. Proving how good a score this was, the nearest score in the second round was a two-under-par 70 by Callum Scott (Silvermere), followed by cards of 71 from Spence, Michael Lowe (Leatherhead) and Matthew Rice (Purley Downs).

In the third round, the unrelenting East course finally managed to catch up with Raitt who finished with a 74, but he remained comfortably in front of his nearest rivals. Speaking about his performance, Raitt commented: “The first two rounds were amongst my best ever, with all parts of my game from tee to green firing on all cylinders.

“I changed clubs after a club fitting session to Titleist AP2s and a 915D driver, and I’m now driving with far more confidence. My putting, especially the three to five footers, was good through all three rounds. I’ve been working hard with my coach Paul Thornley at his indoor academy over the winter, and it’s really paying off with two pro-am wins in the States, and my scoring over the past two days on a tough course that was in fantastic condition throughout.”

The next tournament of the 2015 Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit is the PGA Surrey Open at Kingswood on July 30-31 at Kingswood.