Rodgers is new PGA Southern Open champion

Richings Park’s multiple winner Chris Rodgers stunned the field with a final round of eight-under-par 64, winning the PGA Southern Open Championship by three strokes.

His stellar performance at Sussex’s Cooden Beach Golf Club in the first Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit tournament of the year earned Rodgers a cool £2,000, putting Royal Winchester’s Alasdair Hay into the runner up spot for £1,285, while Surrey Downs’s Craig Cowper took the £1,000 third place.

After their opening rounds of 69, the leading group not only comprised Rodgers, Hay and Cowper, but also Michael Bullen (Rustington Golf Centre), Matt Rice (Purley Downs), Ryan Fitzgerald (Burgess Hill Golf Academy) and Nathan Main (Horton Park Golf Club).

Rodgers’ round was flawless. Reaching the turn in four-under-par, he maintained the pace with two more birdies at the 12^th and 15^th, and managed to find two more down the last two holes for his emphatic victory.

Commenting on his immaculate performance, Rodgers said: “I’ve really found some form in the last couple of weeks, and I came close to winning at Farnham four days ago, but today’s win is very sweet indeed. The new venue of Cooden Beach for this Order of Merit event was a great choice, and thanks to Paul Nessling for setting it up and for The PGA for delivering another terrific tournament for us to play in.”