Wallis shoots 65 to storm to victory

Richard Wallis shot a final-round 65 to win the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour’s Kerry London Championship by seven strokes from Nick McCarthy.

Wallis (Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Club) began the last day on Burhill Golf Club’s New Course as joint leader with McCarthy and his seven-under-par last 18 took him to 15 under for the tournament, earning him the £10,000 winner’s cheque, a brand new Motocaddy trolley and an invite to the Challenge Tour’s Scottish Hydro Challenge.

The victory is Wallis’ first on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour and comes on the back of a successful 2012 on the PGA South Region Order of Merit, which earned him his card on the UK’s number one tour.

“It feels fantastic to win my first event on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour,” said Wallis. “Nick and I had a very good battle on the front nine and it was holing a couple of sneaky 30 footers on 12 and 13 that was the difference.

“The greens are so good that you can hole from anywhere. They are a decent speed so when you hit from 30 feet you are able to sneak them in.

“It’s only my second 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour tournament so I am over the moon to get my first win on the tour. I played at Wentworth last week and that stood me in good stead to come here this week.”

Wallis shot eight birdies on his final round but a bogey on the par-three 18th prevented him from equalling the course record of 64, set by Billy Fowles en route to winning the 2012 Kerry London Championship.

“I wanted to finish with a two and get nine under,” he said. “If you ask any golfer you want to hole any putt. My pitch mark was on the line so I had to hit it far enough to get over it but I was trying to hole it.”

McCarthy (Moortown Golf Club) shot a level-par 72 to conclude the week eight under.

He began well with back-to-back birdies to take the outright lead on ten under but bogeys at four and nine saw him drop back.

He remained in contention with birdies at ten and 11, though by this stage Wallis was beginning to build his lead and a double bogey on the 17th had no bearing on McCarthy’s final standing, with Wallis already six shots clear by that point.

Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Grout (Golf de Poniente Mallorca) shot three rounds of 70 to finish third on six under and last year’s winner Fowles (Wentworth) concluded the week fourth on four under.

Highlights of the Kerry London Championship will air four times on Sky Sports HD on Wednesday, June 12.

The next 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event is the PDC and World Snooker Open at Collingtree Park in Northampton, beginning on Wednesday, June 19.