Despite his best efforts, Whitehead’s John Ross Galbraith fell just two shots shy of a maiden EuroPro win at the Pentahotels Championship at Caversham Heath.
Galbraith was superb in his work, firing six birdies in a wonderful five-under par round of 68 to finish in a tie for 5th at 12-under par in Berkshire.
It was a huge performance for the fledgling pro who collected a cheque worth £1,370 for the performance but what’s more, JR will bank a lot of confidence from the week as he continues to make strides in the pro game.
Meanwhile, West Cliff’s Brendan McCarroll showed great pride to recover from a day two 76 as he posted a four-under par 69 on the final day to grab a tie for 32nd at minus-seven.
Tullamore’s Stuart Grehan was next best at five-under par after enjoying a better week, minus-five being the same score as Clandeboye’s Jonathan Caldwell and Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy.
At the top, Sean Towndrow made a birdie three on the first sudden death play-off hole to beat Bradley Moore and claim his first PGA EuroPro Tour title.
The pair played the final round together and both posted -14 totals by signing for two 68s on a topsy-turvy day when 15 players had a realistic chance of getting their hands on the trophy.
Towndrow got to -15 with six birdies and six pars through 12 holes and he showed great grit to hole a slick 20-foot downhill par putt at the tricky par-3 13th. He went bogey-birdie-bogey over the next three holes before finishing off with a couple of pars.
Moore had looked to be in pole position with a couple of holes to go before bogeying the 17th from a greenside bunker and parring the 18th.
But it was the Southport & Ainsdale player who emerged victorious by navigating the 18th hole in picture-perfect fashion and holing a 12-foot birdie putt in the play-off.
“I hit driver as best as I can and had 112 yards, which is perfect for me with a 52° wedge,” said Towndrow. “I’d been pitching really nicely all day and to do that under the gun was really good. I’m ecstatic and still in a bit of shock but it’s starting to sink in.”
Overnight leaders Sam Locke and Calum Fyfe were both well in contention as they stood on the 18th tee, but a couple of lost tee shots saw them slip agonisingly into a tie for 10th.
John Parry and Neil Fenwick tied for 3rd on -13, with a group of five players in T5th, including Race to Desert Springs leader Richard Mansell and Marco Penge.
Towndrow jumps 51 places to 6th in the Race to Desert Springs and Moore is up to 14th. Mansell has increased his advantage at the top to just over £4,000 and Mikael Lundberg has gone up one place to 4th by finish T24th this week.
Visit www.europrotour.com for more information and details of when the highlights show will be broadcast on Sky Sports. Please find an image of Sean Towndrow with the trophy attached to this email.
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