Tartan Tour No 1 O’Hara comes out on top in Stirling Order of Merit shoot-out

Paul O’Hara got his Arnold Clark Tartan Tour campaign off and running with a first win of the season at the Stirling 36-hole Order of Merit Challenge.

The North Lanarkshire Leisure pro, who enjoyed a successful stint on the Asher Tour in the US during the winter, got himself back in the winning habit on home soil with a slender triumph in the second OOM event of 2024.

O’Hara, last year’s Tartan Tour No 1, posted rounds of 68 and 66 for a 10-under aggregate and a one-shot victory over Chris Currie and Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA champion, Graeme Robertson.

Four shots behind first day leader Ethan Hurst, O’Hara mounted a final round charge and covered his first six holes in five-under, illuminated by an eagle on the fifth.

Despite his early assault being tempered by a bogey on the seventh, O’Hara made further gains at 13 and 14 to edge closer to the £1,800 top prize.

Currie eagled his second shot en route to a closing 68 while Robertson’s challenge hit the buffers with a double-bogey on the 10^th.

Robertson rallied and picked up four shots in four holes from the 12^th in a 68 of his own but it was too little, too late.

Opening day leader Hurst couldn’t build on his first round 64 and sagged to a 76 to slither out of the running.

Click here for all the scores from Stirling.